India has approved the $39 billion purchase of 114 Dassault Rafale fighter jets, in an effort to bolster the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) operational readiness and modernize its military fleet.
On February 12, 2026, the Defense Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired under the guidance of Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, backed the deal, along with the purchase of swathe of other military hardware including combat missiles.
An Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) was approved for the procurement of Rafale Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA), to join the IAF and “undertake air dominance roles across the spectrum of conflict”.
The majority of MRFA to be procured will be manufactured in India, according to Defense Acquisition Council.
The IAF’s ambition for Rafale jets dates back to a tender launched in 2007, which sought to procure 126 new fighters.
While Dassault’s Rafale was selected in 2012, drawn-out negotiations over production responsibilities and technology transfer led to a collapse of the deal in 2015.
An agreement a year later came to fruition with a contract between former French President François Hollande and Prime Minister Modi for 36 Rafale fighters, the last of which was delivered in December 2022.
Though India revived a MRFA program with the French government in 2018, it had yet to bear fruits until now.
News of the purchase comes just days before the current French President Emmanuel Macron is due to arrive in India for an official three-day visit.
