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Rafale Jets, Set, Go: The ‘New Era’ Of India-France Defence Cooperation Explained
Rafale Jets, Set, Go: The ‘New Era’ Of India-France Defence Cooperation Explained
India and France are entering a new era of defence cooperation with plans to jointly produce Rafale fighter jets as well as helicopters, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday, adding the country also hopes to sell more submarines to India.
India’s expected order for another 114 Rafales is a “new step forward" in defence ties between the two countries and France hopes to see this replicated with submarines as well, Macron told reporters at the end of a three-day visit to India.
“On Rafale, what we want to do is expand. India confirmed a few days ago its willingness to command a new bunch of Rafales… 114… and to co-produce in India," Macron said.
“Rafale is absolutely key," Macron said. “I hope we will do it on submarines. We offered additional capacities." The Indian navy operates six French Scorpene submarines.
The Defence Acquisition Council of India’s defence ministry last week gave initial clearance to acquire 114 more Rafale jets for the air force, besides other planes and missiles. So far, India has purchased 36 Rafales for its air force and ordered another 26 marine versions of the jet for the navy.
Details of the Rafale deal including plans for co-production, expected to be sealed after technical and commercial negotiations, are yet to be made public. The 114 jets manufactured by Dassault Aviation are expected to cost Rs 3.25 lakh crore ($35.65 billion).
According to reports, up to 90 of the 114 jets could be produced in India with a joint venture partner who is yet to be identified. Under the proposed framework, 18 jets will be delivered in “fly-away" condition from France, while the remaining 96 jets are set to be manufactured in India.
India is pushing for 50–60% indigenous content in the locally made jets. Dassault Aviation is expected to establish a final assembly line in India, likely in Nagpur through the Dassault Reliance Aerospace Limited (DRAL) venture.
“The majority of MRFA to be procured will be manufactured in India. The Combat Missiles will enhance the stand-off ground attack capability with deep strike power and very high accuracy," the ministry said.
India on Thursday cleared a long-pending proposal to procure 114 Rafale fighter jets under a government-to-government framework with France, nearly two decades after the plan was originally rolled out to boost the Indian Air Force’s combat prowess. The approval for procurement of the Rafale jets, under the Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA) project, came just four days ahead of French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to India. The move to procure the jets has come at a time when the number of the Indian Air Force’s fighter squadrons have gone down to 31 from officially sanctioned strength of 42.
The Rafale jets are capable of carrying a range of potent weapons. European missile maker MBDA’s Meteor beyond visual range air-to-air missile and Scalp cruise missile will be the mainstay of the weapons package of the Rafale jets. The ministry said procurement of MRFA will enhance the capability of undertaking air dominance roles across the spectrum of conflict and significantly boost the deterrence capabilities of the IAF with long range offensive strikes.
In April 2019, the Indian Air Force issued an RFI (Request for Information), or initial tender to acquire 114 Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA) at a cost of around USD 18 billion. It was billed as one of the world’s biggest military procurement programmes in recent years.
In 2015, the Modi government announced a government-to-government framework to procure 36 Rafale fighters in the face of rapidly declining squadron strength of the Indian Air Force (IAF). The NDA government inked the deal on September 23, 2016, to procure the jets after a nearly seven-year exercise to procure 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) did not fructify during the UPA regime. The IAF had begun its hunt for the MMRCA in late 1990s and the RFI for it was floated in 2004.
The IAF currently operates the jets. Last year, the Indian Navy sealed a Rs 64,000 crore deal to procure 26 marine variants of the Rafale jet.
The Rafale purchase plan is expected to be taken up soon by the prime minister-led Cabinet Committee on Security. There is a possibility of India and France inking an inter-governmental pact on the project during Macron’s trip.
However, a formal contract on the deal is unlikely before end of the year as the defence ministry will now have to carry out negotiations with Dassault Aviation to finalise the cost and the finer details of the weapons package.
A separate Rs 63,000-crore ($7.6 billion) deal for 26 Rafale-Marine jets for the Indian Navy was formally signed in April 2025 and reaffirmed during President Macron’s February 2026 visit. These jets will replace aging MiG-29Ks on INS Vikrant and INS Vikramaditya. Deliveries are expected to be completed by 2031, with the first jets arriving in roughly 3.5 years.
During the 6th Annual Defence Dialogue in Bengaluru (February 2026), several critical agreements were renewed or signed:
10-Year Defence Pact: India and France renewed their overarching bilateral defence cooperation agreement for another decade.
HAMMER Missile Production: An MOU was signed between Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Safran to jointly manufacture HAMMER precision-guided missiles in India.
Jet Engine Partnership: Negotiations are ongoing between HAL and Safran for the co-development of a high-thrust 120 kN engine for India’s future 5th-generation fighter (AMCA).
HAL and Submarines: While the Rafale deal focuses on aircraft, both nations also discussed building three additional Scorpene-class submarines at Mazagon Dock Limited.
With PTI, Reuters Inputs
Source: News18
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