The J-10s shot down at least one Rafale, Reuters reported in May, citing U.S. officials. Its downing surprised many in the military community and raised questions about the effectiveness of Western military hardware against untested Chinese alternatives.
Indonesia, which has outstanding Rafale orders, has said it is now considering purchasing J-10s – a major boost to China’s efforts to sell the aircraft overseas.
Delhi hasn’t acknowledged a Rafale being shot down, but France’s air chief told reporters in June that he had seen evidence of the loss of that fighter and two other aircraft flown by India, including a Russian-made Sukhoi. A top Dassault executive also told French lawmakers that month that India had lost a Rafale in operations, though he didn’t have specific details.
Minor quibble, but Rafale does not make a cutting-edge fighter. The US, Russia and China all make 5th gen fighters. France does not yet, they mostly make 4.5. Before long here, the 5’s won’t be cutting edge anymore and we’ll all be on to 6th gen.
And even Russia’s is only 5th gen if you really squint.
After all this time there are imo unsufficient details about this "dogfight " or whatever it was. The Rafale was shot down by a J10, but without context I honestly can’t argue any real conclusion.
Also if I was a buying customer ( Indonesia), I’d use any leverage to get a discount.
Thing with fighter jets is that you dont want a discount as much as you want the better system.
If you expect an air to air fight, what is a cheaper jet worth that loses against the more expensive one most of the time?
Not much. Which is why they want the discount.
