India Signs $35 Billion Deal for 114 Rafale Fighter Jets from France
In February 2026, India authorised a historic ~₹3.25 lakh crore ($35–40 billion) agreement to purchase 114 Rafale fighter jets from Dassault Aviation of France in order to support the ageing fleet of the Indian Air Force (IAF). Eighty percent of these jets will be produced domestically under the “Make in India” campaign, greatly boosting military capabilities in the country.
This significant defence acquisition’s salient features include:
Deal Scope: The IAF will purchase 114 Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA) from the deal, including 26 twin-seat and 88 single-seat models.
Manufacturing: To encourage domestic manufacturing initiatives, 80% of the aircraft would be constructed in India.
Industrial Partnership: Tata Advanced Systems (TASL) and Dassault Aviation are collaborating on production, which includes fuselage fabrication in India.
Strategic Impact: In order to strengthen air superiority, particularly following prior deployments, the procurement fills the IAF squadrons need.
Context: This strengthens India-France strategic ties overall and comes after a separate agreement in April 2025 for 26 Rafale-Marine aircraft for the Indian Navy.
This purchase, which reflects a growing alliance with France, is expected to rank among India’s biggest military procurement agreements.
India now possesses 36 Rafales (the Air Force received the final “C” variant in December 2024) and has placed an order for 26 naval variants, the “M” type, for a total of Rs 63,000 crore.
