President Donald Trump suggested to Indian prime minister Narendra Modi that the U.S. is willing to sell India the fifth-gen F-35 Lightning II; while Russia tried to seal the same deal, India struck a deal with France instead.
Last month, during an Oval Office meeting between U.S. president Donald Trump and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, Trump suggested closer ties between the two countries could result in the U.S. offering the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II to New Delhi. While such a deal likely seems complicated to imagine ever being completed, Moscow has also repeatedly tried to entice India into adopting the Sukhoi Su-57, as the world’s most populous nation is Russia’s most significant customer of military hardware.
However, even as New Delhi may continue to seek a fifth-generation fighter, last week, it announced it had concluded a deal with France to purchase more than two dozen Dassault Rafale omnivore fighters for the Indian Navy.
The Rafale M aircraft will replace the Indian Navy’s aging Russian-made Mikoyan MiG-29K and MiG-29KUB trainers, the carrier version of the MiG-29M, which India received nearly two decades ago.
The Russian-made all-weather multirole fighters are “currently operated by the [Indian] Navy as part of the 300 Squadron White Tigers and 303 Squadron Black Panthers”. In contrast, “the new fighters will operate from the aircraft carriers INS Vikrant and INS Vikramaditya.”
The Indian Navy evaluated several aircraft, including the Rafale, which was a more attractive candidate than the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.
Several factors were considered during “extensive evaluations,” including the ability of the Dassault fighter to operate from both of the carriers, which are Short Take-Off But Arrested Recovery (STOBAR)-configured Short Take-Off But Arrested Recovery and employ a ski jump ramp.
The French deal also allowed India to acquire three *Scorpène-*class diesel-electric attack submarines, The War Zone reported.
Delivery of the Rafale fighters is currently on track to begin in 2029. The Indian Navy is set to receive twenty-two single-seat carrier-capable models for its two flattops, while four will be the two-seat Rafale B trainers.
The French “Burst of Fire” Heading to India
The Dassault Rafale—which means literally “gust of wind” or “burst of fire” in a more military sense—was conceived for use by the French Air Force and Navy as an “omnirole” fighter, meaning that it would replace seven types of combat aircraft in operation at the time of its development. The new aircraft was designed to carry out a wide range of missions, including air defense/air superiority, anti-access/area denial, reconnaissance, close air support, dynamic targeting, air-to-ground precision strike/interdiction, anti-ship attacks, nuclear deterrence, and even buddy-buddy refueling.
Though the Rafale M is similar to the Rafale C used by the French Air and Space Force, the carrier-capable model is outfitted with a strengthened airframe and a built-in boarding ladder.
The carrier model weighs around 1,100 pounds more than the land-based variant. While it can operate from STOBAR-configured aircraft carriers, it is also the only non-U.S. fighter cleared to operate from U.S. supercarriers that employ catapults. 2008, a Dassault M was used in integrated U.S. and French carrier qualifications, including the USS Theodore Roosevelt and French Maritime Nationale flagship Charles de Gaulle.
Indian-Made Rafales, with Love from France
Earlier this month, Dassault Aviation reported strong sales growth, driven by increased military spending in the Middle East and Africa. That could pressure the company to maintain its thirty-six-month delivery commitment for the Rafale.
As of last May, Dassault had a backlog of 228 aircraft on order. That number climbed to 256 this winter, with 190 for export customers and the remainder for the French Air Force and Space Force.
Supply chain and talent shortages to staff the production facilities in France have been cited as problems that Dassault has worked very hard to resolve. That has resulted in production being increased to three aircraft per month, almost doubling the twenty planes that were delivered annually.
Dassault officials have suggested setting up a final assembly line in India to ensure that India receives its fighters on schedule. Such a move would also fit with Modi’s “Make in India” initiative, which has called for at least 60 percent of military hardware purchased to be produced domestically.
About the Author: Peter Suciu
Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He hascontributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: [email protected].
Image: Shutterstock/ Frederic Legrand.