第四部分英文原文
Rafale kills
The author, understandably, wanted to know how the PAF could identify the downed aircraft, as many of the Indian public will not believe it. As a retired officer explained: “In this BVR war, it’s very difficult to show the wreckage of the jet you have shot down, because they fell in Indian territory. Although there were many images appearing on social media, our foe will never admit it, so what we do is judge the ‘kill’ with different parameters as most air forces do.
“Our Identification (ID) Matrix is a structured process that ensures accuracy, accountability, and verification in air combat operations. It begins with the detection of an aircraft radar, followed by its positive identification within the Comprehensive Complete Air Picture (CCAP) at the command centre, where every Indian aircraft is clearly tagged and tracked. “Once detection is confirmed, the next step involves assessing the lock parameters of the missile system, which can only engage a target within specific speed, range and angular limits. After securing a lock on the target, the missile is launched, and its progress is monitored through radar tracking. If the target’s radar signature disappears from the CCAP screen, it is registered as a ‘probable kill’.
“However, the process does not end there, upon returning to base, the pilot undergoes a thorough debrief in which the mission video recording is reviewed to validate that the missile engagement met all required parameters – direction, speed, lock range and envelope. This Multilayered ID Matrix not only guarantees the precision of engagements but also ensures transparency and post-mission verification, making it a cornerstone of the PAF’s credibility in confirming air-to-air victories. Once these steps had been processed, the PAF tried to confirm the ‘kills’ by OSINT/ HUMINT.”
None of the above could be done without the seamless integration of radar inputs from multiple field radars and sector headquarters to create the CCAP at Command HQ. This process by the PAF ensures that data from geographically dispersed radars is fused into one unified, real-time operational display. Instead of each radar working in isolation, their coverage areas are digitally overlapped and synchronised, eliminating gaps and blind spots. The PAF achieves 360° surveillance of national airspace, enabling commanders to track, identify, and prioritise aerial threats with precision. It enhances situational awareness by filtering and corelating radar feeds, thereby reducing the duplication or misinterpretation of targets. As the senior officer told the author: “[Radar] Knitting symbolises the transition from localised radar control to network-centric defence system, empowering the PAF to maintain air superiority through unified awareness, co-ordinated response, and robust command and control.”
The PAF provided the Rafale tail numbers, BS001, BS021, BS022 and BS027 to allow Dassault an opportunity to clarify if the aircraft was still current. Much of the Indian population and news channels still refuse to believe the Rafales were shot down, but while the IAF refutes these allegations, they have yet to provide post-May 7 images of the four jets with the serial numbers and close ups of their manufacturers’ serial number.
Dassault has remained tight-lipped, although it did quite unusually put out a press release denying that its CEO Eric Trappier had said “no Rafales were shot down” after this was circulating on social media.
Sources told the author: “We have video recordings of the downed aircraft and battle damage assessment imagery which we intend to release at the time of our own choosing and when we deem it appropriate which will cause further embarrassment to the IAF.”
Indian acknowledgement
The Indian Chief of Defence Staff, General Anil Chauhan, admitted to Bloomberg Television on May 31, that IAF jets had been shot down that night. He denied Pakistan’s tally of six but declined to specify the exact number. “What is important is not the jet being [shot] down, but why they were downed,” Chauhan said. “Numbers are not important.”
He admitted tactical mistakes were made during the conflict, although he observed that the Indian military did carry out long-range precision strikes on targeted installations. Chauhan finished: “The good part is that we are able to understand the tactical mistakes, remedy them, and implement them again.” His admission was overshadowed by a bolder statement from a political heavyweight in India, Subramanian Swamy, who acknowledged the loss of at least five Indian aircraft during the clash. On August 9, Indian Air Force commander Marshal Amar Preet Singh, who has been in office since September 2024, prompted ripples of disbelief while addressing an Air Force Association gathering in Bangalore by saying: “We shot down five PAF fighters and an AEW&C Erieye with our S-400 SAMs at a range of 300 kilometres.”
