The defence ministry had accorded the initial approval for the mega acquisition after several rounds of deliberations and evaluation tests of the platform in July 2023.
Photo : PTI
In a big addition to its naval prowess, India on Monday signed a deal with France to procure 26 naval variants of Rafale fighter jets at a cost of around Rs 64,000 crore. The intergovernmental agreement was signed at a virtual event. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh was present at the signing ceremony. As per the deal, one Rafale-marine jet will cost Rs 2,461 crore (approximately).
As part of the deal, India is procuring the jets from French defence major Dassault Aviation for deployment on board the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant.
The signing of the mega deal came three weeks after the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi cleared the procurement. The delivery of the jets will have to start around five years after the signing of the contract, the agreement said.
#BreakingNews: India and France sign Rs 63,000 Cr deal for 26 Rafale-M jets for the Indian Navy
The Rafale-M will add greatly to the Indian Navy’s sea control capability: Defence Expert @AJS_subdriver @RishabhMPratap shares more details with @Swatij14 pic.twitter.com/RNw7xt81fj
— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) April 28, 2025
Under the deal, the Indian Navy will also get associated ancillary equipment, which includes the weapon systems and spares from the manufacturer of Rafale (Marine) jets.
The defence ministry had given the initial approval for the mega acquisition after several rounds of deliberations and evaluation tests of the platform in July 2023.
Earlier, an official said that Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh and the French Ambassador to India, Thierry Mathou, would be present at the signing ceremony.
“After the Rafale deal is signed, the delivery of Rafale-M fighter jets to the Indian Navy will start in 2028-29. All the Rafale aircraft will be supplied to the Navy by the year 2031-32,” the official said, quoted IANS.
He added that the deal also includes a comprehensive package for fleet maintenance, logistics support, training of personnel, and domestic manufacturing of components under offset obligations. Notably, the Indian Air Force also has a fleet of Rafale aircraft.
