Top News

 India-France Rafale Deal: A widely circulated letter allegedly addressed by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar to the French Embassy over the Rafale purchase has been rejected as fraudulent by the Ministry of External Affairs’ fact-check team. The reported email claiming that information on Rafale deliveries had been leaked is completely false, the unit stated.

The “fake” letter was posted by an X account called Discourse Lab, which claimed that “Jaishankar’s letter to France confirms one thing: the Rafale controversy is far from over,” according to a picture supplied by the MEA fact-check unit on X on Thursday. New Delhi is finding it difficult to manage the consequences of conversations that were leaked.

MEA calls it a phony letter.
The circulating letter was deemed “fake” by the MEA, which also advised citizens to be on the lookout for misinformation.

“The letter mentioned in this article is fraudulent. In its post on X, the MEA said, “Always be on guard against misinformation.”

The fictitious letter, which was purportedly written by Jaishankar, said that information on the Rafale naval aircraft supply timeline had been compromised and that the revelation had led to unanticipated issues.

The paper was sent to French Ambassador Thierry Mathou and was dated November 26, 2025, with a fake signature of the External Affairs Minister.

We have noticed that several correspondence pertaining to the timetable of the Rafale naval aircraft have lately surfaced in the public domain. The fictitious letter said, “Given the nature of our extensive collaboration, the unintentional disclosure has created some unforeseen challenges for us, even though we fully understand the complexities of such arrangements and the detailed processes involved.”

“We are certain that the caution and professionalism that have defined our contacts will continue to direct our future discussions as partners in a long-standing and cherished partnership. It went on to say, “We are still dedicated to expanding our collaboration and anticipate further enhancing the mutual trust and understanding between our countries.”

France-India massive defense agreement
The phony letter was sent months after France and the Ministry of Defense inked a defense agreement for Rs 63,000 crore for the purchase of 26 Rafale Marine combat aircraft.

According to the Indian Navy, the agreement was signed in April at the Defense Ministry’s headquarters in the nation’s capital’s South Block.

Among other authorities, Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh represented India, while the French Ambassador to India represented his nation. Both nations’ defense ministers participated virtually in the signing as well.

Twenty-two single-seater and four twin-seater Rafale M aircraft, tailored to Indian specifications and carrier integration, are part of the government-to-government transaction. The current MiG-29K fleet will be supported by the Rafale M aircraft, which will fly out of INS Vikrant.

36 Rafale aircraft that were purchased under a different agreement in 2016 are now in use by the Indian Air Force. With the new agreement, there would be 62 Rafale planes in India overall.