A former French Navy Rafale pilot and popular aviation YouTuber, who publicly claimed that the Indian Air Force lost at least one Rafale fighter jet to Chinese-origin warplanes during the May 2025 India-Pakistan conflict and praised the performance of Pakistan’s J-10C and JF-17 jets, has been placed under formal investigation in France over allegations of intelligence activities benefiting China.
Pierre-Henri Chuet, a dual French-Canadian national known online as “Até Chuet,” was questioned by France’s domestic intelligence service, the Direction Générale de la Sécurité Intérieure (DGSI), during the week of 20 July 2026. His residence was searched. He was then presented to an investigating magistrate in Paris and formally placed under investigation (mise en examen) on four counts: disclosure of national defence secrets by a person entrusted with them, intelligence with a foreign power, collection of information relating to the fundamental interests of the nation, and delivery of information to a foreign power. He has been released under judicial supervision. Under French law, this status indicates that investigators believe there is serious or corroborating evidence warranting a formal inquiry, but it is neither a conviction nor a decision to send the case to trial. Chuet remains presumed innocent.
Background of the Pilot
Chuet served in the French Navy’s naval aviation arm until around 2021. He flew Super Étendard strike fighters and later the carrier-capable Rafale M multirole fighter from the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle. He completed approximately 200 carrier landings and trained as an exchange officer with the US Navy, gaining specialised expertise in CATOBAR (catapult-assisted take-off but arrested recovery) operations — a rare skill set outside the US Navy. After a medical discharge following a stroke, he transitioned to commercial aviation (including Boeing 737 training with Air Canada), became an author, corporate speaker, and built a substantial YouTube following of over 560,000 subscribers focused on military aviation analysis.
Claims During Operation Sindoor
Chuet’s public commentary drew significant attention in India after the four-day India-Pakistan military confrontation in May 2025, known as Operation Sindoor. India launched the operation on 7 May 2025 in response to the 22 April 2025 Pahalgam terror attack, conducting missile, drone, and precision strikes on terrorist infrastructure and related targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
In a YouTube video published on 10 May 2025 titled roughly “Un Rafale indien perdu face au Pakistan ? Analyse d’un pilote de chasse,” Chuet asserted with high confidence that the Indian Air Force had lost at least one single-seat Rafale jet. He attributed the loss to a Pakistan Air Force Chengdu J-10C fighter firing a PL-15 beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile. In subsequent videos, he described the Chinese-origin J-10C and JF-17 fighters, along with the PL-15 missile, in favourable terms, referring to them in contexts that portrayed Chinese air combat technology as highly effective against the Rafale.
These claims aligned with Pakistani assertions during and after the conflict. Pakistan claimed to have shot down multiple Indian aircraft, including up to three or four Rafales, one MiG-29, one Su-30MKI, and an Israeli-made Heron UAV, primarily using J-10C fighters of No. 15 Squadron. Independent assessments and some Western reporting, including statements attributed to French Air Force officials, later indicated that India did lose aircraft, with evidence pointing to at least one Rafale among the losses (alongside a Mirage 2000 and possibly a Sukhoi or MiG). India acknowledged that the IAF lost “some aircraft” as part of combat but consistently denied that any were Rafales. Dassault Aviation CEO Eric Trappier publicly rejected Pakistani claims of Rafale shoot-downs. Subsequent Indian Air Force documentation, including a June 2026 Request for Proposal covering support for all 36 Rafales in service, was cited by Indian sources as evidence that the full fleet remained intact.
Alleged China Connections and Training Sessions
The formal investigation centres on undeclared trips Chuet made to China in September 2018 and August 2019 while still serving in the French Navy. He did not notify his chain of command, as required by French military regulations. The trips were arranged and financed by a South African aviation company, the Test Flying Academy of South Africa (TFASA), which has faced scrutiny for facilitating Western pilots’ training of Chinese military aviators.
According to French media reports (including Le Canard Enchaîné and Mediapart), the seminars covered carrier landing technologies, extensive aircraft carrier operations, training for naval aviators and landing signal officers, the E-2C Hawkeye airborne early warning aircraft, and aspects of recent Western military operations. Chuet’s specialised CATOBAR experience on the Charles de Gaulle was particularly valuable to the People’s Liberation Army Navy, which operates three carriers (with a fourth under construction) and is expanding its capabilities with the catapult-equipped Fujian.
French authorities received a referral from the Ministry of the Armed Forces on 19 February 2025 concerning a former serviceman suspected of intelligence activity with a foreign power. The case progressed through preliminary investigation before the recent formal steps.
Chuet has denied wrongdoing. In earlier comments to Le Canard Enchaîné, he stated: “I simply led two three-day seminars. My 2019 trip did not go very well. I never set foot in China again afterwards.”
Broader Context
The case has emerged against the backdrop of French intelligence assessments that China used its diplomatic network, including defence attachés at embassies, to amplify doubts about the Rafale’s combat performance following Operation Sindoor. The alleged disinformation effort sought to undermine further Rafale sales (including to countries such as Indonesia) and promote Chinese alternatives. Beijing has rejected these accusations as “groundless rumours and slander.”
The episode also fits a wider pattern of concern among Western governments. In June 2024, the Five Eyes intelligence partners issued a public warning about China’s systematic recruitment of current and former Western military pilots to acquire tactics, techniques, and procedures. Similar cases have involved American, British, Spanish, and Australian personnel.
Chuet’s public profile as a commentator who questioned the Rafale’s performance in Indian service while having prior undeclared contacts with Chinese military training programmes has fuelled discussion in both French and Indian defence circles. The investigation remains ongoing under the direction of an investigating judge. No trial date has been set, and no conviction has been recorded.
The developments underscore the sensitivity surrounding the combat reputation of the Rafale — France’s flagship fighter, of which India operates 36 aircraft with further acquisitions under negotiation — and the ongoing competition for technological and narrative advantage in the Indo-Pacific and global defence markets.
