In the age of fifth-generation stealth fighters and precision-guided munitions, the battlefield is no longer just about speed, range, or firepower. It’s about deception, a silent war fought with digital tricks, electromagnetic sleights of hand, and high-tech decoys that can outsmart even the most sophisticated missile systems.

Two recent flashpoints in Asia and the Middle East offer a revealing glimpse into this shifting paradigm: India’s Operation Sindoor against Pakistan, and the Israeli air incursion into Iranian airspace.

In both cases, claims of fighter jets being shot down surfaced. However, in one case, decoys were confirmed; in the other, they’re suspected. Either way, the age of “ghost jets” is upon us.

India: Operation Sindoor & The Rise Of The X-Guard

In May 2025, India launched Operation Sindoor following a brutal terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu & Kashmir that killed 26 civilians. The Indian Air Force responded with a four-day precision campaign targeting nine terror camps across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

Rafale, Mirage 2000, and Su-30MKI fighters flew the missions, deploying SCALP cruise missiles and Spice-2000 bombs—all while staying firmly within Indian airspace. But the real star of the operation wasn’t a missile or a manned aircraft. It was a 30-kg fibre-optic decoy called the X-Guard.

Developed by Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, the X-Guard is a fibre-optic towed decoy system integrated with the Rafale’s SPECTRA electronic warfare suite. When deployed, it trails behind the fighter on a cable, mimicking its radar signature while releasing 360-degree jamming signals.

Armed with AI and Digital Radio Frequency Memory (DRFM) technology, it actively deceives incoming radar-guided missiles by creating false radar returns and constantly adapting its signature in real-time.

Sources indicate that India had already integrated and tested the system on its Rafale jets, although delivery delays due to unrest in West Asia and supply chain issues meant it was pressed into early combat service.

And it worked.

According to former U.S. fighter pilot Ryan Bodenheimer, the operation demonstrated “the best spoofing and deception ever seen in combat.” Pakistan claimed to have shot down five Indian aircraft—three of them Rafales. But Indian officials, backed by international observers, dismissed these as decoy kills. What Pakistan may have destroyed were X-Guards, not real jets.

India’s ability to spoof advanced Chinese-origin PL-15E missiles using the X-Guard changed the calculus of aerial survivability. The fact that no Indian aircraft was lost to enemy fire speaks volumes about the operational value of modern decoy systems.

The Iranian Puzzle: Four F-35s Downed Or Phantom Targets?

Just a month later, in June 2025, a different but oddly familiar story emerged from the Middle East. Iranian officials claimed that four Israeli F-35I Adir stealth jets had been shot down near Tehran. Not only that, they said, but one of the pilots—a woman—had been captured alive.

This announcement followed Israeli media reports alleging that the Mossad had set up a drone base near Tehran, possibly triggering the air incursion. Iranian state-run outlets, such as Press TV and Tehran Times, began publishing near-daily updates claiming one F-35 down after another.

On June 15, Press TV declared that a third F-35 had been destroyed by Iranian air defenses. A day later, the Tehran Times ran the headline: “Iran Downs 4th Israeli F-35.”

While the Iranian media celebrated what it called a historic first—becoming the first country to down the elusive fifth-generation fighter—no evidence was ever produced. No wreckage, no pilot photos, no radar tracks. Nothing.

Israel immediately denied the claims, with Arabic-language spokesperson Avichay Adraee calling it a “baseless lie” pushed by Iranian propaganda.

Meet ALE-70, F-35’s Silent Guardian

Even though Israel stayed tight-lipped about the specifics of the incident, the claims brought attention to a piece of technology that could explain the absence of evidence: the ALE-70 fibre-optic towed decoy system, developed by BAE Systems.

The ALE-70 is a compact, intelligent decoy housed in a pop-out hatch on the underside of the F-35.

When deployed, it trails behind the jet on a fibre-optic cable, acting as a false radar target. It emits sophisticated jamming signals, replicates the jet’s radar profile, and can even simulate evasive maneuvers like altitude shifts and speed changes.

The system can deploy in less than two seconds, withstand supersonic speeds, and is reusable. Each F-35 is believed to carry up to four ALE-70s, according to The War Zone.

While the Pentagon’s 2020 budget priced each unit at around USD 56,375, it’s a small price to pay compared to a USD 100 million fighter jet and the cost of a trained pilot’s life.

Israel’s F-35I Adir variant is heavily customized to meet its unique operational demands. But whether it carries the ALE-70 remains unconfirmed. Some analysts speculate that Israel may have developed its own decoy tech or kept such capabilities under wraps.

Still, if Israeli F-35s did operate over Iran and returned unscathed, ghost jets using electronic deception may be the best explanation for Tehran’s empty boasts.

Connecting The Dots

In both India’s Operation Sindoor and the Israeli incursion over Iran, the recurring theme is clear: decoys are redefining air combat. Whether confirmed (as in India’s case) or suspected (as in Israel’s), these systems are forcing a rethink of traditional kill counts and aerial dominance.

Old-school rules of engagement measured success by the number of aircraft shot down and airspace penetrated. But in today’s battlefield, success may lie in being seen without being real, in surviving not through speed or stealth alone, but through misdirection.

This technological sleight of hand is not just about keeping jets airborne. It’s about controlling the narrative. When Pakistan says it shot down three Rafales, and India says it lost none, the truth is likely somewhere in between—and the X-Guard decoy may have been the difference.

When Iran claims four F-35 kills, but can’t show a single photo, and Israel offers silence, it’s not hard to imagine that ALE-70s may have done their job all too well.

The Road Ahead: From Decoys To Doctrine

India is now accelerating the procurement of additional X-Guard systems, despite delays caused by geopolitical tensions. The Indian Air Force already operates 36 Rafales, and a new $7 billion deal signed in April 2025 will bring 26 naval Rafales into service by 2030.

Meanwhile, India is also indigenizing its Rafale ecosystem. A new production unit in Hyderabad is slated to begin building fuselage sections by 2028, eventually delivering up to two complete airframes a month.

As combat data from Operation Sindoor is integrated into future planning, India could deepen its integration of decoy doctrine into its air strategy. The same could be said for Israel, whose silence may speak louder than words.

In an era where shooting down an enemy jet might mean hitting a $50,000 smart pod instead of a $100 million aircraft, one thing is clear: air power is no longer just about flying high or fast. It’s about fooling the enemy and rewriting the rules of survival.

Welcome to the age of ghost jets and phantom kills.