India and France will sign a ₹63,000 crore defense deal on April 28, 2025, for 26 Rafale-Marine fighter jets to bolster the Indian Navy's carrier-borne air power. The deal includes 22 single-seater carrier-capable aircraft and four twin-seat training aircraft, along with maintenance, logistics, training, and indigenous component manufacturing support.
The Rafale-Ms will be hosted on India's indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, besides the old MiG-29K fleet, which has been operationally troubled.
The online signing ceremony, held due to the cancellation of the visit by the French defense minister, will be attended by Indian Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh and French Ambassador Thierry Mathou. Deliveries will begin in 2028–29 and complete by 2031–32. Interoperability with India's STOBAR system and comparable logistics with the Indian Air Force's existing Rafale fleet were key factors behind its selection over Boeing's F/A-18 Super Hornet.
The agreement takes India's Rafale fleet to 62, including the Navy's new aircraft and the IAF's 36 Rafales in Ambala and Hasimara.
The acquisition is a stopgap arrangement as India works on its indigenous Twin Engine Deck-Based Fighter. The agreement is an indicator of closer India-France defense ties, with focus on co-production and technology transfer as in keeping with India's self-reliance strategy.
The signing follows hot on the heels of French President Emmanuel Macron's recent condolences to PM Narendra Modi after the Pahalgam terror attack, indicative of diplomatic synergies aside from defense. The deployment of the Rafale-M is to enhance India's maritime superiority within the Indo-Pacific in order to respond to regional security threats.
