French President Emmanuel Macron rejected the criticism on the Rafale fighter jet deal with India and said that this has made your country stronger. Talking to journalists, he said, ‘We are continuously increasing the indigenous components, this is part of the ongoing talks between the company and your government. I don’t think people can criticize it because it strengthens your country, increases strategic coordination between us and creates more jobs here.

Macron said, ‘We do not just have a strategic partnership, we have a special global strategic partnership that is unique to both India and France. On Rafale, what we want to do is to expand. India has just a few days ago confirmed its willingness to command and co-produce a new batch of 114 Rafale. ‘Make in India’ will be the core of this new command. Furthermore, we want to improve cooperation in maintenance capabilities in terms of diversification of approaches and much greater mutual agreement cooperation. I hope we will do the same on submarines.

#WATCH | Delhi | On India to buy 114 French Rafale jets, French President Emmanuel Macron says, “… We are always increasing indigenous components. It’s part of the dialogue between the company and your government. I don’t see how people can criticize because it makes your… pic.twitter.com/detQEPAt48

— ANI (@ANI) February 19, 2026

DAC approves purchase of 114 Rafale fighter jets

Earlier this month, the Defense Ministry cleared the way for the deal, which is being described as the biggest defense deal till date. The Defense Acquisition Council (DAC) approved the purchase of 114 Rafale fighter aircraft from France.

Why is this deal important for India?

This agreement is a major step towards strengthening the combat capability of the Indian Air Force (IAF) at a critical juncture. Although America and Russia had offered their fifth generation fighter jets F-35 and Su-57, India has also expressed confidence in the French Rafale. This decision has come at a time when India is making efforts to bridge the growing capacity gap. Delhi has ordered 180 Tejas Mark-1A fighter jets under its indigenous programme, but deliveries have been slow due to production delays related to engine supply.

India working on AMCA

Apart from this, India is also working on its 5th generation fighter jet Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), which is likely to join the Indian Air Force fleet by the year 2035. Therefore, the deal of Rafale fighter jet is very important because these fighter jets will soon join the Air Force fleet and will increase the squadron capacity of the Indian Air Force which is suffering from the shortage of fighter jets.

IAF has full confidence in Rafale, it created havoc in Operation Sindoor

The Indian Air Force has full confidence in the Rafale fighter jet because it has used it. In Operation Sindoor, IAF had destroyed terrorist hideouts in Muridke and Bahawalpur districts of Pakistan with Rafale. For this, SCALP cruise missiles with a range of 250 kilometers were used.