China’s People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) fielded its 8 modern J-16 multirole fighter jets against 6 Rafale jets of France in a tabletop war game simulation. On December 22, 2025, this exercise took place in Shuchang, Henan province and state media CCTV made its footage public, which is not common because China usually conducts such military simulations secretly. This exercise is part of modernizing China’s military training and showing preparedness against enemy threats.

Rafale becomes a threat in front of J-16

According to the Eurasian Times report, this year war gaming is being promoted on a large scale throughout the PLA and People’s Armed Police Force and this is the first year when pilot war gaming is taking place on such a large scale. 20 different units took part in this exercise. On one side of the board, 8 J-16 were shown as ‘Task Force’, while on the other side 6 Rafale were shown as ‘Threat’. The results of the simulation were not made public.

According to Eurasian Times, this move comes after the India-Pakistan conflict of May 2025, where Pakistan’s Chinese J-10C jets fought with Rafale, then Pakistan claimed that J-10C shot down several Rafales, but India rejected this. Apart from this, there is constant tension on the India-China border.

India currently has 36 Rafales, there is an order for 26 Rafale-Marines for the Navy and a proposal has been made to buy 114 more Rafales in September 2025. In such a situation, China’s choice of Rafale for simulation is being considered as a signal to counter India’s most advanced western fighter. In reports like South China Morning Post and Indian Defense Research Wing, it has also been described as a part of PLA’s preparation and signaling.

How special is China’s J-16 fighter jet?

The J-16 is China’s indigenous 4.5 generation heavy twin-engine multirole strike fighter, which is similar to the Russian Su-30 but completely upgraded with Chinese technology. It is strong in long-range operations, large weapon load and networked warfare.

• Radar and Sensors: Indigenous Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar is installed, which can detect fighter size targets at a distance of 150-200 kilometers. Can track and engage 15-20 targets simultaneously.
• Passive Detection: The Infrared Search and Track (IRST) system can detect the enemy at a distance of 50-80 kilometers without turning on the radar.
• Payload: Due to payload up to 8 tons and long range, it is better in saturation attack, long patrolling and precision strike.
• Weapon: Can carry air-to-air missiles, air-to-ground weapons, anti-ship missiles like PL-12 and PL-15. Capable of air-to-air combat, ground attack, electronic warfare (EW) and suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD).

Apart from this, Helmet Mounted Display (HMD), J-20 inspired glass cockpit, radar absorbent material (RAM) and dark gray coating reduce radar signature, electronic countermeasures (ECM), missile approach warning system (MAWS) and chaff-flare dispenser. J-16 uses more carbon composite, due to which its weight is less. New datalink and improved EW system has been installed. The special variant J-16D is for electronic warfare, which supports fighters like J-20.

How better is J-16 than Rafale?

Rafale has more range and heavier payload, which is beneficial in long missions. With its canard-delta design, Rafale has better manoeuvrability, dogfighting and situational awareness. Rafale is combat proven, which has been used in Afghanistan, Libya, Mali, Iraq and Syria. Whereas J-16 has been used for interception in South China Sea.

How much is the Chinese fighter jet J-16 worth?

The J-16 is manufactured only for the Chinese Air Force and is not exported, so the exact unit cost is not public. Chinese fighters are much cheaper than Western jets because they are produced domestically and are made at a lower cost. For comparison, the price of export version of J-10C of the same category is said to be around 40-60 million US dollars i.e. around Rs 350 to 530 crore.

According to Global Security and other defense sources, the estimated cost of heavy fighters like J-16 may also be in the same range, but there is no official figure.

The French Navy has rejected Pakistan’s false claims and said that Geo-News and Hamid Mir are spreading fake news in their name. Pakistan’s Geo News and Hamid Mir had claimed a day earlier that a senior officer of the French Navy had described Pakistan’s Air Force as better than India’s Air Force in an event and had talked about the Rafale fighter aircraft.

Hamid Mir and Geo News had claimed that the French Navy Commander had acknowledged the better handling of Pakistan Air Force in the war with India after the Pahalgam attack, after which Marine Nationale, the navy branch of the French Army, reprimanded Geo News for spreading wrong information. The French Navy said that their Navy Commander has not given any statement in this regard.

French Navy reprimanded
In the statement issued by the French Navy, it has been said that this is fake news. These things have been said in the name of Captain Launay, who never made any such statement. There is too much misinformation, disinformation and propaganda in the article. Geo News had said that the Pakistani Air Force shot down French Rafale fighter planes in the recent India-Pakistan standoff and this achievement has been acknowledged by a French naval commander.

Geo News lies exposed
Geo News anchor and journalist Hamid Mir had claimed that during the Indo-Pacific Security Conference held in Paris, Captain Launay of the French Navy admitted that Pakistan’s air tactics were better than the Indian Air Force and it shot down many Rafale aircraft. French Navy Marine Nationale termed this report as completely false and misleading and said that no permission was given for any such statement nor has Captain Launay ever made such comments.

Geo News report had claimed that the French commander cited better war management and not the technical superiority of Pakistan’s Chinese-made J-10C fighter planes as the basis of success. This claim of Geo News quickly went viral in Pakistan and people started calling it a victory over India. Hamid Mir is considered a journalist who spreads propaganda and often spreads propaganda against India on international forums.

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During Operation Sindoor, China’s propaganda against India has been exposed. The report of the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission states that China had spread AI-generated pictures of Rafale wreckage on social media to sell its J-35 fighter plane to the world.

China spread lies to sell J-35 jet

During Operation Sindoor, China was busy helping its friend Pakistan in every way. It was told in the US Parliament report that China had hatched a conspiracy to sell its J-35 fighter jet across the world instead of Rafale. It has been told that China had stopped Indonesia from purchasing Rafale. “Chinese embassy officials convinced Indonesia to halt its ongoing purchase of Rafale jets, further increasing China’s influence in military purchases by other regional countries,” the report said.

Propaganda done through AI-generated pictures

During Operation Sindoor, China was busy helping its friend Pakistan in every way. French intelligence agencies have collected evidence that China used AI-generated images and video-game graphics to falsely publicize the wreckage of the Indian Rafale on social media, reports revealed. It has also been claimed in the report that only 03 fighter jets of India were shot down in Operation Sindoor against Pakistan and it is not necessary that all of them were Rafale.

Military cooperation between China and Pakistan increased: US report

Pakistan had claimed that it had shot down 6 Indian Rafales during Operation Sindoor, but the report presented in the US Parliament exposed Shehbaz Sharif and Asim Munir. The report emphasizes that China and Pakistan have intensified military cooperation in 2024 and 2025. “In November and December 2024, China and Pakistan conducted a three-week Warrior-VIII anti-terrorism exercise, and in February 2025, China’s navy participated in Pakistan’s multinational AMAN exercise,” it said.

Chinese weapon used for the first time

Chinese weapons were used for the first time during this clash between India and Pakistan. These included HQ-9 air defense system, PL-15 air to air missile and J-10 fighter jet. Whereas the reality was that when the Indian Air Force attacked Pakistan, China’s air defense system was not even aware of it. The Pakistani air defense system failed to intercept attacks by either Rafale or BrahMos missiles (which were fired from Sukhoi).

China’s offer to Pakistan after Operation Sindoor

China has always been Pakistan’s largest defense supplier. After this clash, China had offered to sell 40 J-35 fifth generation fighter aircraft, KJ-500 aircraft and missile defense systems to Pakistan. In the same month, Pakistan increased its defense budget for 2025-26 by 20 percent to $9 billion. This report presented in the US Parliament made it more clear that Donald Trump, who was giving statements on Rafale in tune with Shehbaz Sharif, was also false.

Also read: Explained: Saudi Arabia got ‘major non-NATO alloy’ and F-35, what does Trump want in return, why did America’s concern increase?

India has made the whole world realize its strength from Operation Sindoor. India’s Air Force contributed special during this period. The Air Force destroyed several terrorist bases in Pakistan authorized Kashmir. Now the strength of the army is going to increase further. According to the Times of India report, the Indian Air Force has demanded Rafale fighter jets. She wants to include more fighter jets in her fleet.

Indian Airforce to meet the shortage of fighter squadrons Mrfa More Rafael has been demanded under the project. Indian Air Force has 114 multi -roll fighter aircraft i.e. multipurpose fighter aircraft (MRFA) Has advised to buy For this, there may be an agreement between the French government and the Government of India.

How much is the strength of the Indian Air Force right now

According to the report, the Indian Army still needs 42 squadrons of fighter aircraft. He currently has 29 squadrons. If we talk about our neighbor Pakistan, then it has 25 squadron. At the same time, China has 66 squadrons. It is also important that Pakistan and China also have fifth generation fighter jets. If we talk about India, it has the most modern fighter jet Rafael, which is considered a 4.5 generation fighter jet. Although still the Indian Air Force has overshadowed Pakistan.

India showed strength during Operation Sindoor

India took revenge on Operation Sindoor of the terrorist attack in Pahalgam. During this time, the army killed more than a hundred terrorists. The Indian Air Force also destroyed Pakistan’s airbase. In fact, during Operation Sindoor, the Pakistani Army had tried to attack many locations in India, which was thwarted by the Indian Air Force. Now soon the strength of the army will increase further.

Rafale fighter jet: During Operation Sindoor, the Rafale fighter jet that India caused havoc in Pakistan, his Pak Army and Shahbaz Sharif were criticizing him and claiming that he killed three fighter jets. Meanwhile, Pakistan Air Force has praised Rafale fighter jet.

Pakistan’s Air Vice Marshal Aurangzeb Ahmed praised Rafael during the press conference and said, ‘It is not true that Rafael is a bad aircraft. Rafael is equally powerful. A very powerful aircraft, if it is used properly.

It is not normal for Pakistan to praise India’s most updated fighter jet. However, many reasons behind this have also come out as to why Pakistan had praised Rafael. Rafael is the most advanced fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force. India bought 36 Rafale from France under the government-to-government deal in 2016.

Why did Pakistan start praising Rafael?

Actually, the Rafale of France which India uses is also used by those countries with good relations with Pakistan. Like India, Qatar also has 36 Rafale fighter aircraft. Qatar first ordered 24 Rafale in 2015 and then ordered 12 more Rafale fighter jets.

Deal is also going to do the world’s largest Muslim country

Similarly, Muslim country Egypt also has friendly relations with Pakistan. He has 54 Rafale fighter jets. Egypt first ordered 24 Rafale in 2015 and then ordered 30 more fighter jets in 2021. The United Arab Emirates is also a member of OC. He also ordered 80 Rafael to France in the year 2021. Not only this, Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim country, has also done the deal of Rafale fighter jet with France. He is expected to get this fighter jet soon.
Pakistan also did defense deal with France

Apart from this, Pakistan has had good relations with France and has also done many defense deals. France has given Pakistan many military items including Mirage III fighter bomber, Mirage v Jet, Defne-Class Submarine, helicopter, Atlantic Naval aircraft and missiles. In the recent few years, there have been good relations between India and France and the Rafale deal with India has strengthened relations between the two countries. However, Islamabad also wants to maintain good relations with Paris. Many such reports have come out that Pakistan can also make many more deals with Paris.
Pakistan has done military exercise with Rafael

Pakistan has done military exercises with such countries on several occasions, which have France -made Rafale fighter jets. The ‘Victory Spear 2025’ in Saudi Arabia was attended by Pakistan’s JF-17, Saudi’s F-15, EF-2000, France’s Rafael and the US F-16 fighter jets. JF-17 and Rafael were also involved in exercise in the year 2024.

ALSO READ- ‘India lost a Rafael in Operation Sindoor because CEO of Dassault Aviation rejected Pakistan

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Pakistan Military Weapon: India is one of the third largest military forces in the world. India has fire range missiles, fighter jets like Rafael and Mirage-20000, and S-400 Triumph Air Defense System, which makes India a powerful military nation not only at regional but global levels. However, despite all this, Pakistan can prove to be a big threat to India. The reason for this is Pakistan soon going to take Sheenang FC-31 Zorophalcan Stealth Fighter Jet from China, which will be equipped with PL-17 missiles. China FC-31 Georofalcan Stealth Fighter is also dangerous than Rafael of Jetabharat, as it is 5th generation. At the same time, Rafael is 4.5 generation.

The FC-31 Chinese company Sheenyang Aircraft Corporation is creating. This is the stealth fighter jet of a 5th generation. This fighter has been developed for the US F-35 and China’s J-20. Its design and weapon system makes it extremely deadly for modern war. To reduce RCS (Radar Cross-section), it has used S-shape inlets, internal weapon bay and angleed fins. With the help of this design, the jet does not get caught in the enemy’s radar and is able to attract Surprise.

Tur towards Pakistan
Pakistan is already in the purchase process of FC-31 (Export version of J-35). Pakistan can soon make this jet operational with Chinese training, arms supply and logistics support. With the arrival of J-35A or FC-31, Pakistan’s PAF will get a stealth strike capability. China can also sell its stealth fighter in Africa, Central Asia and Southeast Asia, this will increase its influence and increase the pressure on Indo-Pacific strategic alliances of countries such as America-India-Japan.

Rafael and FC-31 Fighter Jet
A large part of Rafael’s strength is hidden in its weapons. The most prominent among them is the Hammer missile, which was bought by India in 2020 from France. This missile is a guided missile from air to ground. Its range ranges from 20 to 70 kilometers, which varies according to its launch position and target. Talking about FC-31, its speed is 1.8 Mac i.e. about 2200 km/h. The range is 1200 km, while up to 1900 km after air refueling. It has a WS-19 engine, generates a power of 12 tons of thrust. Its weight is a maximum of 28,000 kg. It has AESA radar, which can be equipped with modern technology and can cheat enemy radar.

Also read: Pakistan-Turkey Coperation: ‘Missiles, ammunition, drone’, Turkas giving dangerous weapons to Pakistan after Operation Sindoor, India in tension

Portugal rafale deal: Rafale fighter jet has increased so much against Pakistan in India’s Operation Sindoor that now Portugal is also preparing to deal with France for Rafael. The CEO of Rafael making company Dassault Aviation told the French Senate that the company is preparing for the deal of Rafael Malterol fighter jet from Portugal.
This announcement has been made by Dassault Aviation at a time when competition in the fighter jet market in the world has increased considerably. Portugal is currently planning to make a significant change in its defense strategy as he is considering options to change his old F-16 fleet.

Portugal Airforce depends on F-16

According to the Bulgarian military, Portugal has been largely dependent on the American fighter Jet F-16 since the 1990s. In the year 1994, Portugal bought 20 F-16 from America. It then bought 25 F-16 used from Denmark in 1999, after which Portugal Air Force depended on American fighter jets. Meanwhile, Portugal was preparing to buy the upgraded F-35 of America. According to experts, Portugal is reclaiming F-35 again due to concerns about the uncertainty of US foreign policy.

What is the specialty of Rafael Fighter Jet?

Rafael is a fighter jet with double engine, whose combat radius is 3700 km. Three types of missiles can be installed in it. Air -to -air metiore missiles, air -to -ground scalp missiles and hammer missiles. The speed of going to the height of Rafael is 300 meters per second, that is, it can go to a height of about 18 kilometers in a minute.

Rafael can take 10 hours of flying continuously once the fuel is filled. It can also fill fuel in the air itself. The gun in Rafael is capable of firing 2500 in a minute. The biggest feature of Rafael is its radar system. It can identify 40 targets simultaneously at one time in a radius of 100 km.

Also read- Will Iran cheat Russia for China? Plan made to buy Pakistan’s J-10C fighter jet instead of SU-35

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Anil Ambani Reliance-France Dassault Partership: Like selected countries like America, France, Canada and Brazil, India is now preparing to make business-jets. In this regard, Reliance Arostructure Company of well-known businessman Anil Ambani has tied up with Daso (Dassault Aviation) Company of France. Under this agreement, France’s Falcon-200 business jet will be constructed in Reliance Facility in Nagpur.

During the Paris Air Show (16-23 June), Anil Ambani and Daso Aviation Company CEO Eric Trappier signed the agreement in this regard. This is the first time that Daso (Dassault Aviation) company has tied up to make business-jet in a country outside France. After the agreement, Reliance Company issued a statement saying that business jet will be constructed for India as well as global market in Daso Reliance Aerospace Limited (Dral) in Nagpur.

The first Falcon-20000 Business Jet will be ready by 2028

Reliance claims that the first Falcon Business Jet from Nagpur plant in the year 2028 will be ready. Falcon-20000 business jet is used by civil as well as military from all over the world. A total of 10 people may be riding in a total of 20 meter long Falcon Business Jet besides two crew members.

Such aircraft are used for VIP movement and chartered flights. This aircraft can flight up to about 7,000 kilometers at once and can fly up to a height of 14 thousand meters.

This second major agreement of French company Dassault in India’s aviation sector

In recent times, this is the second major agreement of French company Daso (Dassault) in India’s aviation sector. Recently, Daso had tied up with the Tata Advanced Company to create a fusalaz of Rafale fighter jet. These fusals will also be used for fighter aircraft made for Rafal for India as well as other countries.

Reliance Company will make ammunition for Indian Army in the country itself

The Reliance Company also signed an agreement with a company called Raenmetal of Germany last week to make ammunition in the country itself. Apart from this, a second German company had signed an agreement to create a guided monument in India itself. Reliance is going to make such ammunition in the country for India’s armies.