At the end of October 2023, the Indian Navy made official its decision to select the Dassault Rafale M as its future carrier-based fighter to equip the aircraft carriers INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant, projecting itself as the replacement for its MiG-29K. The submission of the Letter of Request (LoR) for 26 units put an end to the selection process, in which the French fighter prevailed over the Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet, initiating the process of contractual negotiations between New Delhi and Paris to finalize the operation through the signing of a contract valued in billions of euros.
Recently, the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the French capital, on the occasion of his participation in the summit on Artificial Intelligence, seemed to provide the ideal framework for the signing of the contract; however, this did not happen. Nevertheless, various local sources from both countries indicate that the signing could take place soon, while the final details are being worked out.
In total, the Indian Navy set its requirement for the purchase of 26 Dassault Rafale Marine (Rafale M) fighters, the carrier-based version of the French fighter that equips the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle of the French Navy.
Of these aircraft, 22 will be of the single-seat version and 4 of the two-seat version, and they will be destined to form the future Carrier Air Groups (CAG) of the INS Vikrant and INS Vikramaditya. The latter is the most modern and advanced of the Indian surface fleet, recently incorporated.
Additionally, the agreement, valued at $7.6 billion (€7 billion), includes the provision of a complete air-to-air and air-to-surface weapons package, among which the MBDA Meteor BVR missiles and the MBDA Exocet anti-ship missiles stand out, along with a sustainment and logistical support package.
In turn, the incorporation of the Rafale M into the Indian Navy responds to two objectives: first, to replace in the medium term the current MiG-29K of Russian origin, and second, to act as a stop-gap solution while progress is made in the development of the future carrier-based fighter of the force, arising from the TEDBF program, from which a functional prototype is expected in the coming years.
Finally, and according to Indian media, the negotiations between both governments would have already been concluded, with only the final details remaining before formalizing the purchase of the 26 Rafale fighters through the signing of the contract, which could take place in the coming months.
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