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According to a report published on January 4 in the French publication La Tribune, a contract for over 26 Rafale Marine fighters could be signed during French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to New Delhi in March 2023. The exact dates of the Presidential visit have not been announced yet.

The report speculated that the Indian side was likely working on the formalities for signing an agreement in March 2023, as the year marks the 25^th anniversary of the strategic partnership between the two countries.

However, no such communication has been released by the Indian government or the Indian Navy.

In December 2021, the former French Defense Minister Florence Parly told the media that Dassault Aviation could bag an order for “26 to 57 Rafale in Navy version.” However, a deal may now be signed for 26 Rafale Marine fighter jets instead of 57.

To supplement its dwindling and ailing fleet of carrier-based MiG-29K fighters, the Indian Navy evaluated the French Dassault Aviation’s Rafale-M and the US-based Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet earlier this year. The tests involving both aircraft were conducted at a shore-based test facility in Goa, India, a few months apart.

After the trials, the Indian Navy submitted an exhaustive report on Rafale and Super Hornets to the Defense Ministry to make a final decision on the procurement, according to reports in The Times of India. As per the report, French Rafale-M is “more suitable in meeting the operational requirements and criteria” than the Super Hornets.

Earlier, military experts had said that the wings of the Rafale-M could not be folded, making it take up more space on the aircraft carrier’s deck. In contrast, F/18 Super Hornet somewhat enjoyed an advantage with its folding wing mechanism.

However, several other features of the Rafale Marine were factored into the report, which favored the Dassault aircraft. The 26 jets the Navy intends to purchase are merely a stop-gap solution until the nation develops and manufactures its twin-engine deck-based fighter (TEDBF).

The Navy is considering importing deck-based fighters as a temporary solution because TEDBF won’t be ready for another ten years, and the MiG-29K aircraft have faced many technical problems, requiring replacement.

A report in another local French publication clarified that the remaining aircraft would not be supplied by the United States but by the Indian manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.

According to speculations, the Indian Navy will acquire the HAL Tejas Mark-2 multi-mission aircraft, which is expected to be operational between 2024 and 2026. EurAsian Times could not independently verify these claims.

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Tejas MK2 will be armed with an Israeli air-to-ground missile Crystal Maze or Raptor is developed for the Indian market with a range of 100 km, weighing 1,100 kg that carries 80 kg warhead. It was developed in the year 2003-04.

The Indian fighter will receive more weapons from Israel, such as the SPICE bomb by Rafael. The SPICE Family of stand-off, autonomous, air-to-surface weapon systems enables precision, high-volume strikes in GPS-denied areas.

The cruise missile that will improve the combat capability of the Indian fighter is SCALP EG, which is made by MBDA. The warhead that carries this missile is 450 kg. The missile hits targets at a distance of up to 560 km. It is used in the Tornado, Saab Gripen, Dassault Mirage-2000, and Dassault Rafale aircraft.

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The IAF, in a statement, said that after the arrival on 29 July, “efforts will focus on operationalisation of aircraft at the earliest”. A formal induction ceremony will be held in Ambala in the second half of August.

The five Rafale jets will take off from Istres in France and fly to the French airbase in Al Dhafra near Abu Dhabi in the UAE. After a night halt, the jets will fly to Ambala in Haryana, where the IAF’s 17 Squadron ‘Golden Arrows’ is based. The fighters will be flown by Indian pilots and will fly straight for 10 hours (Al Dhafra). It will have a halt for the night and next day fly to Ambala.

Two French mid-air re-fuellers will fly with the fighters. There would be at least two rounds of mid-air re-fuelling on the way to UAE. Indian mid-air refuellers will take charge the next day for the journey to Ambala. Indian Air Force pilots are now getting trained in France for re-fuelling. This was not part of the original training.

According to the contract signed in September 2016, 12 aircraft are supposed to be delivered every year. Four aircraft were to originally land in May, but got delayed because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Once inducted, the Rafale with its cutting edge missiles will be the most modern and deadly fighter in this region. The IAF said that its aircrew and the ground crew have undergone comprehensive training on the aircraft, including its highly advanced weapons systems and are fully operational now.

The weapons package
The main weapons package was supposed to arrive in October. However, following a request, France has diverted the missiles made for its own air force to India. These have started arriving already.

These missiles include the beyond visual range (BVR) air-to-air missile, Meteor, which has the capability to hit targets over 120 km away, and the long range air-to-ground stand-off cruise missile, SCALP, which can strike targets 600 km away.

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