Why France is selling Rafales cheaper to Indonesia and costlier to India – The full math explained | World News

New Delhi: France’s aid to India gained momentum during President Emmanuel Macron’s three-day visit, which started on February 17. Macron is in India to attend the Artificial Intelligence Impact Summit, which started in New Delhi on February 16. During the visit, strategic talks on a major defense deal in which India plans to purchase 114 Rafale fighter jets for the armed forces are also ongoing. The aircraft is expected to be delivered by 2030.

New Delhi is set to allocate around 3.25 lakh crore rupees for the acquisition. By total value, the deal will be the largest defense purchase in the country’s history. The size of the deal was compared to Indonesia’s previous Rafale purchase. In 2022, Jakarta purchased 42 jets from Dassault Aviation, a French company affiliated with the government led by Prabowo Subianto.

Indonesia’s Rafale deal cost $8.1 billion (about Rs 68,000 crore). Each jet worked for around Rs 1,747 crore. In India’s deal, each aircraft will cost around 2,850 million rupees. The price difference has raised questions about why India is paying more for the same jets.

The high cost of Rafales in India is explained by the content of the agreement. Each aircraft comes with advanced weapons such as Meteor and Scalp missiles, as well as Hammer precision-guided munitions. The purchase also includes full-mission simulators for training, long-term maintenance, spare parts and technology transfer. The deal covers the entire lifecycle of the aircraft, making the overall package more valuable over time.

Production plans constitute the central pillar of regulation. India had previously recruited 36 Rafale fighters under the 2016 deal. This was followed by an order for a naval variant to which aircraft were added for deployment on INS Vikrant. The Indian Air Force (IAF) currently operates 36 Rafales, while the Navy uses 26 Rafales for carrier operations. According to the new proposal, 96 jets are planned to be produced at the Dassault Reliance Aerospace Limited facility in Nagpur. The remaining 18 aircraft will be produced in France. All Rafales currently in Indian service are manufactured in France. With the new acquisitions, India’s fleet strength is expected to increase to 176 aircraft between 2030 and 2035.

The need to expand its forces is why India is buying more Rafales. Currently the IAF operates 29 fighter squadrons, but its assessed requirement is 42 squadrons. Each fleet has 16-18 warplanes. The new Rafales will help bridge this gap and strengthen preparedness in different regions.