France has submitted its detailed technical and commercial proposal to India for the proposed government-to-government purchase of 114 Rafale multirole fighter aircraft, marking a key milestone in one of the country's biggest military procurement programmes.
The proposal, submitted in response to India's Letter of Request (LoR) issued in May, is being examined by the Defence Ministry's Acquisition Wing and the Indian Air Force, defence sources told ANI.
The deal envisages extensive local manufacturing, with 94 of the 114 aircraft to be produced in India in partnership with domestic industry. French aerospace major Dassault Aviation, along with key suppliers including missile maker MBDA, engine manufacturer Safran and defence electronics company Thales, will work with an Indian industry partner to execute the programme.
The Indian side will closely scrutinise the French offer, particularly its plans for integrating indigenous systems such as variants of the Astra beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile and increasing the domestic content in the aircraft, the sources said.
If finalised, the programme is expected to generate business opportunities worth around Rs 1.6 lakh crore for Indian companies, including Tata Group, Larsen & Toubro and other domestic defence manufacturers, while significantly boosting the country's aerospace manufacturing ecosystem.
The acquisition is aimed at addressing the Indian Air Force's declining squadron strength, which has been affected by the phased retirement of ageing Russian-origin MiG fighter aircraft and delays in the induction of indigenous platforms such as the LCA Mk1A and the upcoming LCA Mk2.
The Rafale emerged as India's preferred fighter in 2012 after a prolonged global competition and is expected to become one of the mainstay combat aircraft of the Indian Air Force over the coming decades.
The Defence Acquisition Council approved the Air Force's proposal to procure 114 Rafales around five months ago.
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India has already contracted 62 Rafale aircraft for the Air Force and the Navy. The proposed order would take the total fleet to 176 aircraft. The Indian Navy has also indicated its intent to acquire an additional 31 Rafales for maritime operations, which could eventually take India's Rafale fleet beyond 200 aircraft.
The proposed acquisition forms part of the Defence Ministry's broader effort to strengthen the Air Force's combat capabilities. The ministry undertook a comprehensive capability review under Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh soon after he assumed office in 2024, following which efforts to accelerate force modernisation have gathered pace.
