Key points
- France accuses China of a campaign to discredit Rafale fighter jets, mobilizing its embassies to undermine sales and promotion of Chinese aircraft.
- French researchers have found elements of a disinformation campaign, including the creation of fake accounts and the use of artificial intelligence to create fakes, although there is no direct evidence of the Chinese government's involvement.
Dassault Rafale / Photo from open sources
China may have mobilized its embassies for an information campaign against French Rafale fighter jets, which were used in combat in India and Pakistan in May.
French intelligence indicates that Chinese military attachés have been actively promoting doubts about the effectiveness of these aircraft among current and potential buyers, Channel 24 reports, citing the Associated Press.
China May Have Launched Campaign to Discredit French Fighters
According to a French intelligence report, Chinese embassy officials in several countries have led a campaign to undermine Rafale sales while promoting alternative Chinese aircraft. Paris believes this is an attempt to undermine Dassault Aviation's position in the high-tech weapons market.
Background: Dozens of aircraft from both sides were involved in four days of clashes between India and Pakistan in May. Pakistan has a fleet of Chinese fighters, while India has French Rafales. Pakistan says it shot down three Rafales during the standoff, plus two other models.
The French side believes that this precedent raises questions about the effectiveness of such aircraft among those who have already purchased them.
India has acknowledged the loss of aircraft but has not said how many. French Air Force chief Jerome Belanger said he had seen evidence pointing to only three Indian losses – a Rafale, a Russian Sukhoi (Su) and a Mirage 2000, an earlier generation French-built aircraft. It was the first known combat loss of a Rafale.
Of course, all the countries that bought the Rafale asked themselves the question, Belanger said.
French researchers have found elements of an online disinformation campaign: the creation of more than 1,000 fake accounts, the use of artificial intelligence to fake images of debris and video game footage that was presented as real combat.
While there is no direct evidence of Chinese government involvement in the campaign, French intelligence says Chinese officials lobbied potential clients to reject French aircraft, recommending Chinese weapons instead.
The French Defense Ministry also said the Rafale had been the target of a “widespread disinformation campaign” that “aimed at promoting the advantages of alternative equipment, in particular Chinese-made equipment.”
Eight countries have purchased or ordered the Rafale, including Egypt, India, Qatar, Greece, Indonesia, Croatia, Serbia and the UAE. Dassault has sold 533 of the jets, 323 of which have been exported. Indonesia, which has already ordered 42, is considering ordering more.
