Pilot detained after returning from China as authorities keep reasons undisclosed, leaving questions over the circumstances surrounding the sudden custody
MM Report
PARIS: French ex-pilot Pierre-Henri Chuet has been arrested on suspicion of espionage, in a dramatic development that has sent shockwaves through the nation’s defence establishment and thrown a multi-billion-pound arms deal with India into fresh turmoil.
Highly placed sources have confirmed to the Metro Morning that the pilot, who has not been named, was taken into custody immediately upon his return from a private visit to China. During that trip, it is alleged, he provided training to Chinese military personnel on the handling of Rafale fighter jets – a breach of national security so grave that it has left senior officials in Paris scrambling for answers.
French ex-pilot Pierre-Henri Chuet, who claimed the IAF lost Rafale jets during Operation Sindoor and praised Chinese fighter jets, has been detained amid allegations of spying for China. The arrest has landed like a thunderbolt in the corridors of power, not only in France but also in New Delhi.
Under the terms of the original Rafale agreement, France explicitly forbade the transfer of any source code or sensitive operational know-how to India. Yet Indian sources now claim that the kickbacks involved in the deal are so substantial that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is determined to push it through at any cost – regardless of the diplomatic fallout.
For Modi, the timing could hardly be worse. Already isolated on the world stage after India’s humiliating defeat to Pakistan in May 2025, the prime minister has found few allies willing to stand beside him.
Critics point to his increasingly cosy relationship with Benjamin Netanyahu – himself a convicted figure in the eyes of the international criminal court – as evidence of a leadership that appears to be doubling down rather than stepping back.
The affair has exposed deep fissures in France’s defence export strategy and raised uncomfortable questions about who, exactly, is guarding the crown jewels of European military technology. With the pilot now in custody and both Paris and New Delhi refusing to comment officially, the scandal shows little sign of abating.
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