India clears the way for landmark deal to acquire French Rafale jets

NEW DELHI — India has cleared a proposal to buy 114 Rafale multirole fighter jets from France to bolster its air force in its largest-ever military hardware procurement.

The push to acquire the jets comes amid a critical shortfall in the combat capability of the Indian Air Force at a time when the country has witnessed heightened tensions with Pakistan and China.

The Rafales were the biggest and most high profile acquisition to be cleared among nearly $40 billion worth of hardware that India plans to buy to modernize its military.

The go-ahead by the Defence Acquisition Council headed by Defense Minister Rajnath Singh on Jan.12 comes days before French President Emmanuel Macron visits New Delhi and paves the way for commercial and technical details to be finalized.

At a time when the geopolitical order is witnessing a significant churn, the Rafale deal will cement a strategic partnership between New Delhi and Paris once it is sealed.

The push to acquire the French jets comes amid offers from the United States for its F-35 fighters and Russia for the Su-57E aircraft.

“I think that in some ways the choice of the Rafales is a reflection of India’s foreign policy and strategic priorities as well. It underscores India’s decision to strengthen its strategic autonomy and move away from the Russia-U.S.-Israel binary,” according to Harsh Pant, the vice president of studies at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi. “If you look at the air force five or six years down the line, it would have a strong French component.”

While Russia has traditionally been India’s largest weapons supplier, in recent decades New Delhi has diversified imports by buying hardware from France, the United States and Israel.

India presently operates 36 Rafales which were inducted into the air force from 2020 onwards and have since been deployed to strategic air bases near the borders with Pakistan and China.

“The procurement of MRFA (Multi role fighter aircraft) will enhance the capability of undertaking air dominance roles across the spectrum of conflict and significantly boost the deterrence capabilities of IAF (Indian Air Force) with long range offensive strikes,” the Indian Defence Ministry said in a statement.

The Indian Air Force has been grappling with declining fighter jet numbers amid delays in programs to manufacture indigenous aircraft. While it has a sanctioned strength of 42 squadrons, each equipped with 16 to 18 fighters, it operates only about 30 squadrons — the lowest since the 1960s.

Analysts point out that the Rafales will help bridge the shortfall, which comes at a time when rapid advancements in Chinese military capabilities and deepening China-Pakistan ties pose a challenge to India.

“Capability-wise the air force now has come far ahead in terms of precision, mobility, high altitude, all weather operations et cetera, but capacity is something we urgently need to build on,” said retired Air Marshal Anil Khosla, a former vice chief of the Indian Air Force.

“Definitely the squadron strength needs to be upwards of 42 to 45 because your capacity to fight depends on how many threats you face, and in our case, China is marching way ahead both in capacity, capability as well as a new generation of fighter aircrafts,” he added. “And it is pulling Pakistan along with it because of the collusive nature of their engagement. That is why it is a priority for India to portray strength.”

Besides the proposal to procure the 114 jets, India last year also contracted to buy 26 Rafale-Marine jets for its aircraft carriers. Together, these could seal an important role for the French jets not just in the air force but also the maritime domain.

The Rafales have already been deployed in combat during a four-day conflict with Pakistan last May which India called Operation Sindoor. The fighters are believed to have launched SCALP air-launched cruise missiles, capable of striking targets over 500 kilometers away.

Pakistan’s claims that it downed several Indian fighter jets during the combat including Rafales have been disputed by India.

Indian officials have said the jets played a key role during the conflict.

“Rafale was definitely the hero during Operation Sindoor,” the vice chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Nagesh Kapoor, told reporters at a press briefing on Feb. 11th. He was referring to strikes by the Indian Air Force at targets in Pakistan during the conflict.

Defense experts say the choice of the Rafale jets reflects its strong performance.

“When the Rafale came in, the standoff and precision capability of the air force enhanced multifold, because it can take on various roles simultaneously. So it gave a lot of options for decision making,” said former Air Marshal Khosla.

“For example, you don’t have to cross the lines that presently demarcate the border with Pakistan or China. You can fire from far and shoot and engage the enemy. So these capabilities made Operation Sindoor simpler for the Indian Air Force to plan and execute” Khosla said.

The deal is being negotiated at a time when some of the legacy fighters of the air force such as the Russian MiG-21 were decommissioned recently and others such as the MiG-29 and the French Mirage 2000 are due to retire in the coming years.

“The majority of MRFA (Multi Role Fighter Aircraft) to be procured will be manufactured in India,” the Defense Ministry statement said.

Although the statement did not specify numbers, Indian officials have told the media that 18 aircraft would be delivered in fly-away condition, and the remaining jets would be manufactured in India as part of its ‘Make in India’ program – a push to increase domestic manufacturing of aircraft jets and weapons.

The production in India is also expected to involve technology transfer and integration of Indian weapons and systems into the aircraft.

Besides the Rafales, India has also cleared procurement of six additional P8I maritime surveillance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft from the U.S. for the Navy.

But the potential Rafale deal will underscore France as a dominant defense partner for New Delhi, say analysts.

“India sees a kindred spirit in France because France also has always talked about retaining strategic autonomy and decision making, despite being part of the West,” according to analyst Pant. “So in that sense, there is a comfort level with the larger worldview of France that aligns closely with India.”

新德里——印度已批准从法国购买 114 架阵风多用途战斗机的提案，以加强其空军实力，这是印度有史以来规模最大的军事装备采购。

在印度空军作战能力严重不足，且该国与巴基斯坦和中国关系日益紧张之际，印度政府大力推进采购这些战机。

在印度计划购买价值近 400 亿美元的硬件以实现军队现代化的项目中，阵风战斗机是规模最大、最引人注目的采购项目。

由国防部长拉杰纳特·辛格领导的国防采购委员会于 1 月 12 日批准了这项计划，几天后法国总统埃马纽埃尔·马克龙将访问新德里，这为最终确定商业和技术细节铺平了道路。

在当前地缘政治秩序发生重大变化之际，一旦“阵风”战斗机交易达成，将巩固新德里和巴黎之间的战略伙伴关系。

在法国大力采购法国战机之际，美国也向法国提出了F-35战斗机的采购方案，俄罗斯则提出了苏-57E战机的采购方案。

新德里观察家研究基金会研究副总裁哈什·潘特表示：“我认为，在某种程度上，选择阵风战斗机也反映了印度的外交政策和战略重点。这凸显了印度加强战略自主、摆脱俄美以二元对立的决心。展望未来五六年，印度空军将会拥有强大的法国元素。”

虽然俄罗斯历来是印度最大的武器供应国，但近几十年来，新德里通过从法国、美国和以色列购买武器装备，实现了进口多元化。

印度目前拥有 36 架阵风战斗机，这些战斗机从 2020 年开始陆续加入印度空军，并已部署到靠近巴基斯坦和中国边境的战略空军基地。

印度国防部在一份声明中表示：“采购多用途战斗机（MRFA）将增强印度空军在各种冲突中执行空中优势任务的能力，并通过远程进攻打击显著提升印度空军的威慑能力。”

由于国产飞机制造项目延误，印度空军一直面临着战斗机数量不断减少的困境。尽管其编制为42个中队，每个中队配备16至18架战斗机，但目前仅运作约30个中队，这是自20世纪60年代以来的最低水平。

分析人士指出，阵风战斗机将有助于弥补印度的军事实力缺口，而此时中国军事能力的快速发展以及中巴关系的不断深化正对印度构成挑战。

“就能力而言，空军现在在精确性、机动性、高空作战、全天候作战等方面已经取得了长足的进步，但产能是我们迫切需要加强的方面，”印度空军前副参谋长、退役空军元帅阿尼尔·科斯拉说道。

“中队规模肯定需要达到42到45个以上，因为你的作战能力取决于你面临的威胁数量，而就我们而言，中国无论在实力、能力还是新一代战斗机方面都遥遥领先，”他补充道。“而且由于双方的勾结，中国也在拉拢巴基斯坦。这就是为什么展现实力对印度来说至关重要。”

除了拟采购114架战机外，印度去年还签订了购买26架“阵风”海上战斗机的合同，用于装备其航空母舰。这些订单加起来，将使法国战机不仅在空军领域，而且在海上领域都发挥重要作用。

去年五月，印度与巴基斯坦爆发了为期四天的冲突，印度称之为“辛杜尔行动”（Operation Sindoor），当时“阵风”战斗机已投入实战。据信，这些战斗机发射了射程超过500公里的空射巡航导弹“风暴阴影”（SCALP）。

巴基斯坦声称在战斗中击落了包括阵风战斗机在内的多架印度战斗机，但这一说法遭到印度的否认。

印度官员表示，这些战机在冲突中发挥了关键作用。

“在‘​​辛杜尔行动’中，阵风战斗机无疑是英雄，”空军副参谋长纳格什·卡普尔空军元帅在2月11日的新闻发布会上告诉记者。他指的是印度空军在冲突期间对巴基斯坦境内目标进行的空袭。

国防专家表示，选择阵风战斗机反映了其强大的性能。

“阵风战斗机服役后，空军的远程打击和精确打击能力得到了数倍提升，因为它能够同时承担多种任务。这为决策提供了更多选择，”前空军元帅科斯拉说道。

科斯拉说：“例如，你无需越过目前划分巴基斯坦或中国边界的线。你可以远距离开火，射击并打击敌人。因此，这些能力使得印度空军更容易计划和执行‘辛杜尔行动’。”

这项交易的谈判正值俄罗斯空军的一些老式战斗机（如俄罗斯的米格-21）最近退役，而米格-29和法国的幻影2000等其他战斗机也将在未来几年退役之际。

国防部声明称：“大部分待采购的多用途战斗机将在印度制造。”

虽然声明中没有具体说明数量，但印度官员告诉媒体，将交付 18 架可直接飞行的飞机，其余飞机将作为其“印度制造”计划的一部分在印度制造——该计划旨在提高国内飞机和武器的制造能力。

预计在印度的生产还将涉及技术转让以及将印度武器和系统集成到飞机中。

除了阵风战斗机外，印度还批准从美国为海军采购六架额外的P-8I海上监视和反潜作战飞机。

分析人士表示，潜在的“阵风”战斗机交易将凸显法国作为新德里重要的国防伙伴的地位。

分析人士潘特表示：“印度在法国看到了共鸣，因为法国也一直强调，尽管身处西方阵营，但仍要保持战略自主和决策权。因此，从这个意义上讲，印度对法国的整体世界观感到认同，而这种世界观与印度的理念高度契合。”