NEW DELHI: India signed a deal with France on Monday to buy 26 Rafale fighter aircraft worth 630 billion rupees ($7.4 billion) for its navy, the Indian defence ministry said in a statement.

“The governments of India and France have signed an inter-governmental agreement for the procurement of 26 Rafale Aircraft,” the defence ministry said in a statement.

India will buy 22 single-seater and four twin-seater fighters, made by France’s Dassault Aviation, the ministry said, in a deal that would boost the Asian country’s defence ties with its second-largest arms supplier. When delivered, the jets would join 36 French-made Rafale fighters already acquired by New Delhi as part of its efforts to rapidly modernise its military hardware

“The delivery of these aircraft would be completed by 2030, with the crew undergoing training in France and India,” the ministry said, adding that the deal is expected to generate thousands of jobs and revenue for a large number of businesses.

India has become world’s largest arms importer, with purchases rising to 10pc of all imports

The purchase was approved earlier this month by India’s security cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Indian Air Force currently operates 36 Rafale fighters, while the navy’s aircraft fleet mainly comprises Russian MiG-29 jets.

India is seeking to modernise its military, reduce dependence on Russian-origin equipment, and boost domestic weapons production to supply forces deployed along two contentious borders with Pakistan and China. The Indian navy has flagged China’s growing presence in the Indian Ocean over the past decade, with Beijing operating dual-purpose vessels in the region and maintaining a military base in Djibouti since 2017.

It also marks another step in India’s long-standing reliance on French military hardware, including Mirage 2000 jets bought in the 1980s and Scorpene-class submarines ordered in 2005.

The jets made by French aerospace company are expected to operate from Indian-made aircraft carriers, replacing the Russian MiG-29K jets. “It includes training, simulator, associated equipment, weapons and performance-based logistics” as well as 22 single-seater and four twin-seater jets, said India’s defence ministry. “It also includes additional equipment for the existing Rafale fleet of the Indian Air Force (IAF).”

The earlier contract for 36 Rafale aircraft, agreed in 2016, was worth about $9.4 billion. Many global arms suppliers see the world’s most populous nation — and fifth-largest economy — a key market.

India has become the world’s largest arms importer with purchases steadily rising to account for nearly 10 per cent of all imports globally in 2019-23, the Stockholm Internatio­nal Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said last year.

India has also eyed with worry its northern neighbour China, especially since a deadly 2020 clash between their troops. That sparked a wave of defence reforms in the country, with both a push for fresh contracts from foreign suppliers and simplified laws to push domestic manufacturing and co-production of critical military hardware.

Published in Dawn, April 29th, 2025