French authorities have detained and are questioning Henri Suyet, a former French Navy pilot, on allegations that he gathered and shared sensitive information with China, according to reports in the French media.
Suyet had earlier drawn attention after publicly questioning the capabilities of the Rafale fighter jet. During a period when India used Rafales in a retaliatory operation against Pakistan following a terror attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir, he claimed Chinese aircraft had attacked and destroyed Rafales—an assertion denied by both India and France.
Investigators allege he made undisclosed trips to China in September 2018 and August 2019 while serving in the French Navy. The reports say that during those visits he provided training to Chinese Air Force pilots through a South African aviation company and shared key information.
After being questioned and released once, he is now being examined again. Officials reportedly searched his home on the 20th, and he has been placed under judicial supervision. Suyet, who holds French and Canadian citizenship and served as a naval pilot until 2021, has denied wrongdoing, saying he only arranged a few seminars that did not go as planned.
He faces multiple allegations including spying for a foreign country and leaking national security information, with accusations also pointing to the sharing of military information with China in 2023 and 2025.
