The wheels are in motion and the Indian Air Force’s official files proposing the procurement of 114 Rafale fighters (and, in effect, ending the pursuit of a competitive process) are now at the Ministry of Defence. Bolstered by performance during Operation Sindoor and the Indian Navy’s conclusion of a deal for 26 Rafale-M deck based fighters, the IAF has cleared the air on its intent.
Any deal for 114 Rafales, needless to say, will not only be exorbitantly expensive, but also the single biggest defence deal India will ever have signed. The sheer size and audacity of such a deal, which will necessarily involve a major local-build component, raises several questions that require a threadbare analysis. Is there a case for France shifting Rafale production lock-stock to India? What will India really get from this deal apart from the ability to assemble jets in India, something it has done for decades? Does India truly get full access to the core technologies, both mechanical and electronic? Does this deal carry enough financial muscle to bake in technology for an engine? Do old questions about how engine tech can never be shared no matter what the deal size get washed away? Will India be able to mate its own weapons to the Rafale without frictions of the last few years? Does such a deal leave India with a severely committed air power budget that leaves near nothing for stealth aircraft programs and potential procurement?
All of those questions featured in a detailed discussion in Episode 25 of Ctrl-Alt-Defence, a weekly podcast led by Livefist founder and NDTV Managing Editor Shiv Aroor with NDTV veteran Vishnu Som.
You can watch the whole episode here:
If the answer to all the questions posed is yes, India still needs the Rafaels as there is a critical shortage of combat jets. All this fanciful stories about 5th Gen fighter acquisition by Pakistan from China can be countered by the off the shelf purchase of Su-57 from Russia. But there is no denying the fact that the IAF is morbidly short of combat jets and the Tejas Mk1A WILL TAKE DECADES IN THE MAKING and there is no alternative