Given that the strike is suppossed to be standoff and India claimed that missiles were involved, I am going to present a few possibilities.
1. The Rafale, carrying ALCMs, is shot down by PAF in Indian airspace. This means IAF cannot effectively control its own turf.
2. The Rafale, despite capable of carrying long range, stand-off missiles, is brought down by Pakistan air defenses. This is also accounting for that fact that the Rafale likely used jamming.
3. The plane was shot down by Indian SAMs, which is possible but also embarassing.
4. The plane crashed because of mechanical failure or pilit error, in which case it is still embarassing for IAF.
1. The Rafale, carrying ALCMs, is shot down by PAF in Indian airspace. This means IAF cannot effectively control its own turf.
2. The Rafale, despite capable of carrying long range, stand-off missiles, is brought down by Pakistan air defenses. This is also accounting for that fact that the Rafale likely used jamming.
3. The plane was shot down by Indian SAMs, which is possible but also embarassing.
4. The plane crashed because of mechanical failure or pilit error, in which case it is still embarassing for IAF.
