French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in India on Tuesday (February 17, 2026) for a three-day visit. He has come here to participate in the AI ​​Impact Summit which started from February 16, but during his visit, the mega deal can also be approved under which 114 Rafales are to be purchased. These Rafales will be available to the Indian Army by 2030.

India will spend Rs 3.25 lakh crore to buy 114 Rafale. In terms of price, this is considered to be India’s biggest military deal so far. Recently Indonesia has also purchased 42 Rafale jets from France. In the year 2022, the then government of Probowo Subianto had signed a deal with French aerospace company Dassault Aviation.

Indonesia had purchased 42 Rafale for 8.1 billion dollars i.e. about 68 thousand crore rupees. According to this, the price of one Rafale comes to Rs 1,747 crore. At the same time, India can spend Rs 3.25 lakh crore on the deal and accordingly one Rafale aircraft will cost India Rs 2,850 crore. In such a situation, the question arising in the minds of people is whether France is selling Rafale to India at an expensive price, or why Rafale is costing India Rs 1,000 crore.

What is the truth?
The reality is that India is paying Rs 2,850 for a Rafale aircraft because along with the aircraft, it is also buying missiles like Meteor and Scalp, precision guided bombs like Hammer, full mission simulator for training, long-term maintenance and spare parts and technology transfer of Rafale. This is the entire life cycle cost of the Rafale aircraft and accordingly this aircraft is becoming cheaper for India.

Rafale will be made in India
In the year 2016, India had purchased 36 Rafale and last year the naval variant of Rafale was purchased. Accordingly, the Air Force has 36 Rafales and the Navy has 26 Rafales for the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant. This deal is also special because this time 96 Rafales can be manufactured at Dassault Reliance Aerospace Limited (DRAL) in Nagpur, India, while 18 Rafales will be manufactured in France. The Rafale aircraft which are currently with the Indian Army were manufactured in France only. From 2030 to 2035, the total number of Rafale aircraft with India will increase to 176.

India is going to make such a big deal because the Air Force does not have the number of fighter planes it needs. Currently there are only 29 squadrons, whereas 42 squadrons are required. There are 16-18 fighter jets in a squadron.

French President Emmanuel Macron is coming to India in the third week of February. He is expected to attend the AI ​​Summit to be held in New Delhi on February 18. Preparations have started for the visit of the French President. The visit of the French President to India is very special for the Indian defense sector. In this visit of Macron, the proposal for purchase of Rafale is also included in the bilateral talks between India and France. In this deal, 114 Rafale fighter planes are to be purchased for the Indian Air Force, in which about Rs 3.25 lakh crore is to be spent.

According to news agency ANI, India’s Defense Procurement Board has already given preliminary consent to the proposal last month, which is likely to be discussed in the high level meeting of the Defense Minister of India next week. This deal is being considered very important in terms of the needs and operations of the Indian Air Force in view of the current security situation.

How many Rafales does India have now?

The timing of discussing the purchase of Rafale aircraft from France is very important. At present there are about 30 fighter squadrons in the Indian Air Force fleet, which is much less than its sanctioned strength of 42 squadrons. Defense experts point to the growing strategic and military alliance between Bangladesh and China, as well as between Pakistan and China, as a factor increasing India’s regional security concerns.

Why is Rafale special?

Rafale project is very special for the Indian Air Force. India’s offensive air power will increase with the availability of multirole fighter aircraft with more than 4.5 generation power. There was a shortage of lethal fighter planes in the Air Force for a long time, which will be fulfilled by this deal with Rafale. According to the proposal, as part of efforts to boost defense production in India, 80 percent of the 114 Rafale aircraft are to be manufactured in India.

Indian Air Force will have 150 Rafale in its fleet.

According to sources, Indian Air Force will buy 88 single seater and 26 twin seater aircraft. Most of the production will be done by French manufacturing company The Salt and Indian private sector company, which will be done in India only. After completion of the deal, the number of aircraft in the Rafale fleet of the Indian Air Force will increase to approximately 150.

Rafale worsened Pakistan’s condition in Operation Sindoor

114 Rafale deal is also special in this sense, because it performed brilliantly during Operation Sindoor. During this period, due to accurate attacks by India, Pakistan was forced to surrender. Rafale is a 4.5 generation fighter jet, which is considered much better than the Pakistani JF-17. Not only this, there are currently 36 Rafale fighter aircraft in the Indian Air Force fleet, while the Navy has also ordered new variants for 36 Rafales.