Attempted break-in at IAF's Paris office

New Delhi: In an suspected case of espionage, there was an attempted break-in on Sunday at the Indian Air Force's Paris office which is overseeing production of 36 Rafale fighter jets for India, military sources said.

A group of unidentified persons broke into the office of the IAF's Rafale project management team in the suburbs of Paris and local police are probing whether the attempt was to steal classified data relating to the aircraft.

"As per initial assessment, no data or hardware have been stolen. The local police are investigating the incident," said a source.

The sources said the IAF has briefed the defence ministry about the incident.

The IAF's office of Rafale project management is located at the complex of Dassault Aviation, the makers of the Rafale jets. There was no official reaction from either the defence ministry or the IAF about the incident.