IAF seeks Rs. 2 lakh crore deal for 114 ‘Make in India’ Rafale jets after Operation Sindoor success
New Delhi, September 13. The Indian Air Force (IAF) has submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Defence to acquire 114 Rafale fighter jets under a ‘Make in India’ plan, a deal estimated to be worth around Rs. 2 lakh crore.
The jets will be co-produced by France’s Dassault Aviation and Indian partners such as Tata, with about 60 percent of components to be manufactured domestically. The French side is also preparing to establish a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility for Rafale’s M-88 engines in Hyderabad, Telangana, news agency ANI reported citing sources.
According to officials, the proposal – known as the Statement of Case (SoC) – was recently submitted by the IAF and is currently under review by various divisions of the Defence Ministry, including Defence Finance. Once cleared, it will move to the Defence Procurement Board (DPB), headed by the Defence Secretary, and later to the Defence Acquisition Council for approval.
The push for additional Rafales follows their stellar performance in Operation Sindoor, India’s retaliatory strike against Pakistan after the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu & Kashmir, that killed 26 civilians. During the operation, Rafales reportedly used their Spectra electronic warfare suite to outmatch Chinese-made PL-15 air-to-air missiles fielded by Pakistan.
At present, the IAF operates 36 Rafale jets, while the Indian Navy has separately ordered 26 for carrier operations. If cleared, the new order will take India’s total Rafale fleet across services to 176 aircraft.
Officials noted that the IAF urgently requires more fighters to replenish its shrinking squadron strength. Its current inventory includes 4.5-generation fighters like Rafale, Sukhoi Su-30, and HAL Tejas, alongside fourth-generation Mirage 2000s and MiG-29s.
