As impressive as the Rafale’s maneuverability is, maneuverability doesn’t count for much in the BVR (beyond-visual-range) dogfighting conditions that comprised the dogfight between India and Pakistan.

India also has a long-standing policy of refusing to allow foreign mediation when it comes to the status of Muslim-majority Kashmir - a disputed region claimed by both India and Pakistan in its entirety - which has been at the center of the latest conflict with Pakistan and which India regards as a strictly internal matter.

Air Marshal Bharti, responding to reports carried in international media, about Rafale fighter jet downed during Operation Sindoor, neither denied not confirmed the claims. He, instead, saud that “losses are a part of any combat scenario.