Rafales down, France slap a stunned Modi

 The downing of 3 Rafales was so shocking and embarrassing to the French that their first reaction was to point the fingers at India. It cannot be the fault of the Rafales or French technology. It must be the Indian pilots, poorly trained, did not know how to fly the French's world best state of the art flying machine. The Rafales have a spotless record of not being shot down even once. True, very true. How could tribesmen and herdsmen with only rifles and machine guns be shooting down the Rafale?

Have the Rafales really seen real action, in real combat with equals, with enemy aircraft and weapon system that are as good or even better? The clean record of the Rafales is as good as fiction without genuine real combat.

Now the Rafales are facing some real contenders in unranked, often rubbished by the West as antique jet fighter, the J10 C from China. Yes, from China, a country that has not been at war with anyone, no real combat experience. The J10 C is only known for its specs on paper. And the cocky and haughty West simply laughed it off, Chinese data are false, fakes. So, the J10 C is just another toy machine unlike the highly ranked Rafales, third best in the world, with the American F22s taking the first and second top spot. Incidentally the Americans have stopped production of their world best fighter aircraft for some queer reason. Soon there will be no F22s around when the present batch hit the end of their shelf life.

Ok, the world's third best fighter jet, according to western war 'anal' lysts, cannot simply lose to the unranked J10 C and from China. It must be the useless Indian pilots. And with evidence of 3 or 4 Rafales down, the Indians could not argue their way out. They simply have to accept the wild accusation of the French.

What actually happened in the fight was elementary in terms of piloting skills. It was not dog fights, close combat that required the best flying skills of a pilot. There is no need for the skills of a top gun. It only required pilots to fly the Rafales for straight and level flight. The Rafales were knocked off by hypersonic missiles, controlled by sophisticated AI assisted programmes and radar technology from more than 100km away. The Indian pilots did not even see what was coming to hit them. Maybe their avionics and communications were already jammed. There is no need for extraordinary pilot skills. Oh yes, India's number one ace pilot was the first to be shot down.

Modi should call off the French bluff. It has nothing to do with pilot skills. The Rafales were shot down by better technology, better weapon system with better range. Even the best French pilots would not stand a chance against superiority technology.

Poor Modi, poor Indians, made to eat humble pie by the French and did not know how to wiggle out of the trap. What happens to the slippery oral skills of the Indians? Now the French are still strutting around, blaming the Indians for the down Rafales. It is not the fault of the French Dassault manufacturer. It is the Indian's fault!