India Plans to Order 114 Rafale to Replace Outdated Soviet Fighters

The Indian Air Force plans to order an additional 114 Rafale fighter jets to replace its outdated fleet of Soviet fighters.

This was reported by the Times of India.

Currently, the Indian Air Force is strongly pushing for the signing of an agreement that will allow them to purchase 114 fighters, which could potentially equip up to 10 combat squadrons.

Such an urgent need has arisen due to delays in the MRFA tender, which was launched back in 2008 to close the capability gap with Russia’s Su-30MKI aircraft.

As noted in the publication, this step is directly related to India’s Operation Sindoor, in which French fighters were actively involved in attacks on Pakistani ground targets using SCALP-EG missiles.

Additional problems are also caused by the final retirement of Indian MiG-21 fighters, which will reduce the number of squadrons from 31 to 29, the lowest in the history of the Indian Air Force.

The desire to purchase the French Rafale fighter jet, according to the Times of India, is associated with the deepening of the Indian defense industry’s participation in the Rafale program, as well as the purchase of these aircraft for both the Air Force and naval aviation with further orders for new aircraft carriers.

Earlier, Militarnyi reported that the Indian company Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) has signed an agreement with Dassault Aviation to produce Rafale fuselages in India.

A total of four agreements were signed to transfer part of the production of Rafale fighter jets to India. For the first time, the fuselages of these combat aircraft will be manufactured outside of France at a new plant in Hyderabad, India.

This step is part of Dassault’s commitment to the Indian government as part of the Make in India policy approach and the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative.

The cooperation became possible after India confirmed an order for 26 Rafale-Marine deck-mounted fighters for the Navy in April 2025.