Rs 3.25 lakh crore Rafale fighter jet deal set for key Defence Ministry meeting this week: Report

The source codes will remain with the French side only.

• India to buy 114 Rafale jets from France for ₹3.25 lakh crore
• Most Rafale jets to be made in India, with 30% indigenous content initially
• Deal would be India's largest defence acquisition, raising Rafale fleet to 176

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In a major boost to India’s air power plans, the government is set to take up a massive ₹3.25 lakh crore proposal to acquire 114 Rafale fighter jets from France at a high-level Defence Ministry meeting this week, news agency ANI reported, citing top defence sources.

Under the proposal, most of the Rafale jets will be manufactured in India with an indigenous content of around 30 per cent, while 12–18 aircraft are likely to be procured in fly-away condition for the Indian Air Force (IAF), the sources said.

The matter is expected to come up for discussion at a senior-level Defence Ministry meeting scheduled over the next two to three days. As part of the government-to-government deal, India is also seeking France’s approval to integrate Indian weapons and other indigenous systems on the Rafale platform, sources added. However, the source codes will remain with the French side.

If approved, the deal would become India’s largest-ever defence acquisition and take the total number of Rafale jets in Indian service to 176. The IAF 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 to ANI.

Notably, India is moving ahead with the Rafale deal even as both the United States and Russia have offered their fifth-generation fighter aircraft, the F-35 and the Su-57 respectively, to the IAF.

While the indigenous content in the aircraft is currently pegged at around 30 per cent, which is lower than the usual 50–60 per cent requirement under Make in India norms, sources indicated that the Made-in-India Rafale fighters could eventually see indigenous content rise beyond 60 per cent.

The move to push the proposal forward comes in the backdrop of the Rafale’s reported strong performance against Pakistan 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.

As part of the broader package, France is also planning to set up a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility for the M-88 engines used in Rafale jets in Hyderabad. Dassault has already established an entity for maintaining French-origin fighter aircraft in India, and Indian aerospace firms, including Tata, are expected to play a key role in manufacturing and support.

India’s push to fast-track fighter jet inductions comes amid growing regional security challenges. The IAF’s future force structure is expected to centre around the Su-30 MKI fleet, Rafales and indigenous fighter programmes. India has already placed orders for 180 LCA Tejas Mark 1A aircraft and plans to induct its indigenous fifth-generation fighter in large numbers after 2035.