TSAMTO, June 2. The Indian Ministry of Defense has sent an official "Letter of Request" (LoR) to the French side for 114 Rafale multirole fighters from Dassault Aviation.
According to the Hindustan Times, the document was handed over to the French government between May 25 and 31, 2026. The purchase is carried out within the framework of the MRFA (Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft) program according to the intergovernmental mechanism of contract execution.
The MRFA negotiation process is synchronized with the visit of the Chief of Staff of the Indian Air Force, Air Marshal A.P. Singh, to France (June 2-5, 2026) with a visit to the Dassault Aviation assembly plant in Merignac, as well as with the planned state visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Paris on June 15-17.
The request for the possibility of delivery contains the operational requirements of the Indian Air Force, technical parameters and terms of the contract. After receiving a response from the French side indicating the price conditions, delivery dates and logistical parameters, the parties will proceed to commercial negotiations and the execution of a "Request for Proposal" (RfP). Negotiations and the signing of the final contract are scheduled for fiscal year 2026-27, subject to approval by the Government of India's Security Committee (CCS).
The value of the potential deal is estimated at 3.23-3.25 trillion. Indian rupees (about 38.9-39.0 billion dollars). In terms of funding, the contract will be the largest purchase of combat aircraft systems in India's history.
The supply structure provides for the manufacture of 90 aircraft in India according to a localized production scheme with a share of domestic components of at least 50% jointly by Dassault Aviation and an Indian industrial partner. The remaining machines will be delivered to the customer in a ready-to-use form directly from the French production facilities.
The configuration of the purchased Rafale assumes the supply of 88 single and 26 double cars. According to reports, the bulk of the new aircraft will be made according to the F4 standard, with the possible inclusion of individual copies of the promising F5 modification in the batch. The F4 standard provides the aircraft with improved digital network integration (MDPE communication system), as well as an expanded arsenal of outboard weapons. The F5 modification involves the integration of artificial intelligence elements and means of interaction with unmanned aircraft systems.
The request for delivery also includes an upgrade to the F4 standard of the previously purchased fleet of 36 Rafale fighters (F3R standard) adopted by the Indian Air Force under the 2016 contract. Dassault Aviation already has an operating DAMROI (Dassault Aviation Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul India) facility in India, which was commissioned in 2025. In June 2025, Dassault Aviation and Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) announced a partnership to manufacture Rafale fuselages at a facility in Hyderabad, the first precedent for fuselage manufacturing outside France.
The prerequisite for launching the MRFA program was the systemic shortage of combat aviation squadrons of the Indian Air Force: with an established staff of 42.5 squadrons, the actual number is about 30 squadrons. The adoption of new fighters into service is designed to eliminate this shortage in the face of increasing regional instability.
