French ex-pilot who said IAF lost Rafales detained for ‘spying’

A French military commentator and former French Navy pilot is being investigated in France over allegations that he passed on sensitive military information to China. Pierre-Henri Chuet is the same pilot who had earlier claimed that India lost Rafale jets during Op Sindoor to Pakistan’s Chinese fighter planes, reports Surendra Singh. Chuet, a 36-year-old French-Canadian national, was detained by France’s domestic intelligence agency, DGSI.French ex-Navy pilot’s ‘China links’ under lensFormer French Navy pilot Pierre-Henri Chuet is under investigation over allegations that he shared sensitive military information with Chinese authorities during his two training trips to China.The pilot, who was identified by French newspapers Le Parisien and Mediapart as Pierre-Henri Chuet, reportedly travelled to China in Sept 2018 and Aug 2019 to run training sessions for Chinese military pilots. At the time, he was still serving in French Navy. A source in the know of developments told the French media that Chuet did not inform his superiors about the trips, which is required under French defence regulations.Chuet drew intense scrutiny last year for claiming that India had lost Rafale fighter jets during Operation Sindoor against Pakistan. He had also praised Chinese fighter jets at the time. His claims were strongly denied by Indian defence officials and Dassault Aviation, which had supplied 36 Rafale jets to India under a ₹7.87 billion intergovernmental agreement signed in Sept 2016. India also signed a ₹63,000 crore ($7.4 billion) intergovernmental agreement with France on April 28, 2025, to procure 26 Rafale Marine fighter jets for Indian Navy.French prosecutors confirmed that they are conducting a preliminary inquiry after receiving a report from Ministry of the Armed Forces on Feb 19.Chuet has denied any wrongdoing. “I simply hosted two three-day seminars,” he told Le Canard Enchaîné. “My 2019 trip did not go very well, and I have never set foot in China since.”Catch the latest World News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.