Rs 3.25 lakh crore Rafale deal: Defence ministry to take up 114-jet proposal - all you need to know

NEW DELHI: The defence ministry is set to discuss a proposed Rs 3.25 lakh crore deal to acquire 114 Rafale fighter jets from France at a high-level meeting scheduled to be held later this week, official sources told ANI.According to top defence sources, the proposal involves manufacturing the majority of the 114 Rafale aircraft in India with indigenous content of around 30 per cent, under a government-to-government agreement with France. The deal also includes plans to procure 12 to 18 Rafale jets in fly-away condition for the Indian Air Force.As per the proposal, which is expected to be taken up for discussion within the next two to three days, India has asked France to enable the integration of Indian weapons and other indigenous systems into the aircraft.

However, the source codes will remain with the French side.If approved, the deal would become India’s largest-ever defence procurement and would raise the total number of Rafale jets in Indian service to 176. The Indian Air Force currently operates 36 Rafales, while the Indian Navy placed orders for 26 Rafale-M jets last year.“The Statement of Case (SoC) or the proposal for the 114 Rafale jets prepared by the Indian Air Force was received by the Defence Ministry a few months ago.

Once approved by the Defence Ministry, the proposal will have to be given final clearance by the Cabinet Committee on Security,” sources said.The move comes at a time when both the United States and Russia have offered their fifth-generation fighter aircraft, including the F-35 and the Su-57 respectively, to the Indian Air Force. Despite these offers, India is continuing discussions with France for the Rafale acquisition.While the indigenous content in the proposed Rafale jets is currently pegged at around 30 per cent, which is lower than the usual 50 to 60 per cent requirement under Make in India norms, officials said this figure could rise during production.The decision to push the proposal forward follows the reported performance of the Rafale during Operation Sindoor, where the aircraft is said to have successfully countered Chinese PL-15 air-to-air missiles using its Spectra electronic warfare suite.

Officials said the indigenous content in the Made in India Rafale jets is expected to eventually exceed 60 per cent.The French side is also planning to establish a maintenance, repair and overhaul facility for the M-88 engines used by the Rafale fleet in Hyderabad. Dassault Aviation has already set up an entity in India to support the maintenance of French-origin fighter aircraft, and Indian aerospace companies, including Tata, are likely to be involved in manufacturing activities.The Indian Air Force has been seeking rapid induction of fighter jets to address growing regional security challenges. Its future fighter fleet is expected to be centred on the Su-30 MKI, Rafale, and indigenous fighter programmes. India has already placed orders for 180 Light Combat Aircraft Mark 1A jets and plans to induct an indigenous fifth-generation fighter aircraft in large numbers beyond 2035.