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26-02-2026
Bureau Report + Agencies
NEW DELHI PARIS: France and India are entering a new era of defence cooperation with plans to jointly produce Rafale fighter jets as well as helicopters, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday, adding France also hopes to sell more submarines to India.
India’s expected order for another 114 Rafales is a “new step forward” in defence ties between the two countries and France hopes to see this replicated with submarines as well, Macron told reporters at the end of a three-day visit to India.
“On Rafale, what we want to do is expand. India confirmed a few days ago its willingness to command a new bunch of Rafales…114…and to co-produce in India,” Macron said.
The Defence Acquisition Council of India’s defence ministry last week gave initial clearance to acquire 114 more Rafale jets for the air force, besides other planes and missiles, months after the worst fighting in decades between India and Pakistan.
So far, India has purchased 36 Rafales for its air force and ordered another 26 marine versions of the jet for the navy.
Details of the Rafale deal including plans for co-production, expected to be sealed after technical and commercial negotiations, are yet to be made public. Indian media reports have said that the 114 jets manufactured by Dassault Aviation are expected to cost 3.25 trillion rupees ($35.65 billion).
They have also reported that up to 90 of the 114 jets could be produced in India with a joint venture partner who is yet to be identified.
“Rafale is absolutely key,” Macron said. “I hope we will do it on submarines. We offered additional capacities.”
The Indian navy operates six French Scorpene submarines and local media reports say there are plans to order more.
On Tuesday, Macron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the first H125 helicopter assembly line, made in India by a joint venture between Airbus and Tata Advanced Systems, as well as a plan to jointly produce HAMMER missiles in India, by Safran and India’s state-owned Bharat Electronics.
Rafale jets flown by the Indian Air Force were in the spotlight during India’s conflict with Pakistan last May.
Media reported that Pakistan’s Chinese-made J-10C jets shot down at least one Rafale, citing US officials. New Delhi has confirmed losses in the air but has not acknowledged a Rafale being shot down.
Last week, the air force’s fighter squadron strength has shrunk to 29 in recent months, well below the 42 it had earlier. Its workhorse MiG-21 was retired in September and other early variants of the MiG-29, the Anglo-French Jaguar and the French Mirage 2000, are also set to end service in the coming years.
New Delhi has long relied on importing machinery and weapons for its armed forces, but a recent push by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has helped boost domestic manufacturing.
For the Indian Air Force, this era began in the 1980s but was fruitful only in the last decade when the locally produced Tejas fighter jet was introduced to replace Soviet-era MiG-21s. Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) has nearly 180 of the advanced Mk-1A variants of the Tejas on order domestically, but has yet to begin deliveries due to engine supply chain issues at GE Aerospace.
The defence ministry said the Defence Acquisition Council had given the initial nod for more Rafale fighter jets and missiles for the air force, anti-tank missiles for the army and P-8I reconnaissance aircraft for its navy.
