India’s naval aviation gets a boost: Rafale-Marine jets approved for acquisition
The Indian Navy will acquire French-origin fighter jets, the Rafale-Marine, for its aircraft carriers, expanding the scope of offensive operations at sea and adding new capabilities like longer-range precision strike missiles to target ships and aerial threats. In the event of a crisis, these jets can also be deployed to the Indian Air Force (IAF) bases along the northern borders to augment the IAF’s fleet of 36 Rafale jets. The Cabinet Committee on Security, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the purchase of 26 Rafale-Marine fighter jets from aviation major Dassault at a cost of Rs 63,000 crore.
Deliveries of the jets are expected to begin three years after signing the contract, with the entire fleet to be in place with the Navy by 2031. The deal includes weapons, simulators, spares, associated ancillary equipment, crew training, and logistics support for the Indian Navy. This will also involve India-specific add-ons, such as establishing a maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) hub, integrating India’s Astra missile, and sourcing from local suppliers. Rafale-M can carry ‘Scalp-EG’, a 650-km range cruise missile.
The jets, consisting of 22 single-seater and four twin-seater variants, will primarily be deployed on the indigenously built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant. Rafale-M, along with the tender for 97 Tejas Mark 1A jets worth Rs 65,000 crore, is one of India’s largest military orders. Social media has drawn comparisons between the price of Rafale-M and the IAF’s 36 Rafale jets, which cost Rs 59,000 crore in 2016. However, sources attribute the difference to the increased exchange rates of the dollar and euro against the rupee, as well as a ten-year gap and inflation.
Operationally, Rafale-Marine features reinforced landing gear, similar to other naval jets. When landing on an aircraft carrier at sea, the jet doesn’t have the luxury of a long runway to stall, so the landing gear is restrained using specialised pylons on the ship’s deck. Like the Navy’s existing Russian-origin MiG 29K jets, Rafale-M has foldable wings, allowing more planes to be stored, with 25 per cent of each wing folding. On a carrier, jets are stored in a hangar below the deck.
Rafale-M represents a significant upgrade to the country’s naval forces since the Russian-origin MiG 29-K joined the fleet in 2011. Initially, 45 MiG 29K jets were imported at a cost of USD 2 billion, but five have crashed. The remaining jets operate from both the INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant carriers. Some MiG 29K naval jets were forward-located from their home base at INS Hansa Goa to Adampur Punjab during the military standoff with China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.
The import of Rafale-M jets is an interim measure to address expanding security needs until India’s indigenous twin-engine deck-based fighters (TEDBF) are developed. TEDBF is expected to make its first flight in 2028, followed by flight trials. Notably, the French Navy uses the Rafale-M on its carrier, the Charles de Gaulle.
