We don't hide our crashes until it's under wartime emergency. IAF won't remain so silent if Rafale simply crashed because of an accident until it was shot down by enemy fire. That's what has happened here. BS001 is gone, IMO.
PS: There were also reports of multiple Rafales being attacked by Pakistanis, though all of them survived the barrage and returned to base except BS001.
We hide all losses during an ongoing operation. I mean, why give away clues?
The Rafales acted as missile magnets using their towed decoys to protect the rest of the fighter fleet. The PAF "downed" decoys mimicking the Rafales and thought they had hit Rafales. What it means is the Rafales themselves were not visible to the missiles' seekers.


) are coming to deny PAF having this VLO advantage.

