India’s defence ministry is set to discuss its plans to buy 114 Rafale jets from France at a cost of over Rs 325,000 crore, against the backdrop of French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Delhi for a summit meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
According to Ministry of Defence officials, the procurement proposal from the Indian Air Force (IAF) is likely to be discussed by a high-level committee and this procurement is one of the key future capability acquisitions for the IAF.
India has allocated Rs. 63,733.94 crore for buying aircraft and aeroengines in its 2026-27 defence budget, which could be used for signing the contract for the 114 Rafales in the next fiscal.
However, the MoD already has a committed liability of Rs 110,00 crore to pay for the Tejas aircraft to the state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, with which IAF has signed contracts for 180 Mk1A variants in two tranches in 2021 (83 aircraft) and 2025 (97 aircraft).
The Defence Procurement Board, headed by Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh, had in January 2025 approved the IAF proposal for buying the 114 Rafale under the Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA) programme.
The contract for the 114 Rafales, though, is a far way off, as the process needs to go through cost negotiations before it is approved by two high-level panels of the Indian government.
After cost is finalised, the contract proposal would go to the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and then to the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), chaired by Modi, before the deal could be signed.
With the retirement of the MiG-21s from the IAF, India’s fighter squadron numbers have gone down to less than 30 against the sanctioned strength of 42.5 squadrons to meet the twin threat of nuclear-armed neighbours, Pakistan and China, in the region.
The recent strategic affairs developments in the region has not been favourable for India, as Pakistan has made efforts to strengthen its ties with Bangladesh, headed by the interim government of Muhammad Yunus.
During Operation Sindoor, China not only amplified the fake news of Pakistan on downing of Indian fighter jets, it also supported Rawalpindi’s military operations by providing satellite imagery, and such assistance in their attacks on Indian civilian installations along the Line of Control.
The current procurement proposal for 114 Rafales is aimed at stemming the fall in combat capabilities and squadron numbers, apart from arming the IAF with a 4.5-generation, multi-role fighter aircraft.
The proposal is for buying 88 single-seater combat and 26 twin-seater trainer jets, and producing about 90 aircraft in India through an Indian partner by increasing the indigenisation in a phased manner.
When the deal is signed and deliveries are completed, the IAF’s Rafale numbers would go up from the current 36 to 150. This apart, the Indian Navy has also signed up in 2025 for 26 marine variants of the Rafale jets.
Rafale manufacturer Dassault Aviation has already set up a Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) facility in Noida in Uttar Pradesh to handle the servicing of these aircraft in India, and some capabilities are also being transferred to the IAF’s Base Repair Depots.