NEW DLEHI: The French Navy on Sunday criticised Pakistani media for publishing what it described as “misinformation and disinformation” about India’s Operation Sindoor, after one outlet claimed a French officer had confirmed Pakistani air superiority and the capturing down of Indian Rafale jets throughout a border confrontation earlier this yr in Might.In an announcement issued on its official X deal with, the ‘Marine Nationale’ mentioned the article had fabricated feedback and even misidentified the officer concerned.“FAKENEWS: These statements had been attributed to Captain Launay who by no means gave his consent for any type of publication. The article comprises in depth misinformation and disinformation,” the put up mentioned.Pakistan based mostly broadcaster Geo TV’s November 21 report had quoted a “Jacques Launay” as allegedly praising the Pakistan air pressure throughout a supposed Might 6–7 aerial engagement involving over 140 fighters, and claiming Indian Rafales had been downed with Chinese language assist. The French Navy mentioned the officer’s actual identify is Captain Yvan Launay – and not one of the feedback attributed to him had been real. Clarifying his precise function, the Navy mentioned: “First identify is Yvan, not Jacquis. Opposite to what has been established within the article, his obligations are restricted to commanding the natural naval air station the place the French Rafale Marine plane are stationed.”In accordance with the assertion, Captain Launay’s presentation on the Indo-Pacific convention was strictly technical. “Captain Yvan Launay offered the belongings of his naval air base, the missions of the Rafale fighter jet, and the French service strike group idea,” it mentioned.Responding to questions on the occasion, Launay “neither confirmed nor denied that Indian aircrafts had been shot down” throughout Operation Sindoor and “refused to touch upon potential jamming of the Indian Rafale by Chinese language programs.” The Navy added that “he by no means talked about the Chinese language J10.”These clarifications immediately contradicted one other declare revealed by the Pakistani outlet, which had mentioned Launay linked alleged Rafale efficiency points to operational shortcomings and in contrast the jet with the Chinese language J-10C. The Navy reiterated that such references had been by no means made.France’s rebuttal comes days after a US report by US-China Financial and Evaluation Fee uncovered how in aftermath of Operation Sindoor, China initiated a “disinformation marketing campaign” to “hinder the gross sales of French Rafale plane in favour of its personal J-35s, utilizing pretend social media accounts to propagate AI pictures of supposed particles from the planes that China’s weapon destroyed.” The Operation Sindoor was launched in response to the dastardly Pahalgam terror assault in Jammu & Kashmir on April 22 earlier this yr, wherein 26 civilians had been killed – the incident later prompted Indian response focusing on Pakistan-sponsored terrorist websites.(With inputs from businesses)