Jet, Set, Go… China and Pakistan Lose Sleep as India Prepares to Acquire 114 New Rafale Jets; Air Force Chief Arrives in France. Jet, Set, Go… China-Pakistan lost sleep, India prepares to buy 114 new Rafale, Air Force Chief reaches France – ..

India News Live, Digital Desk : To make the security of Indian skies impenetrable and to sharpen the teeth of the enemies, the biggest and explosive news of this time is coming out from the defense world. The Indian Air Force (IAF) is all set to take its firepower to a new and deadly level. One of the biggest defense deals in the history of the Air Force, i.e. the process of purchasing 114 new Rafale Fighter Jets, has now come on superfast track. To finalize this mega deal and discuss the technical details, Indian Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh himself has reached France on a four-day very important and strategic visit. According to highly placed sources of the Defense Ministry, the Indian Government has also sent a formal proposal to France to purchase these state-of-the-art fighter aircraft, after which the commotion in the defense corridors has intensified.

Grand deal may be finalized within next one year, detailed details sought from France

After the official proposal sent by India, now the French government and the aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation will respond to India with highly confidential and detailed information related to its total cost, annual production capacity of the aircraft and future logistics support. Defense experts estimate that this technical and financial response from France will come within the next two to three months. Immediately after this, a round of high level formal diplomatic talks will begin between the two nuclear armed friendly countries. Senior Air Force officials believe that if everything goes according to plan, then this historic defense deal can be completely finalized within the next one year.

This visit of the Air Force Chief to France is very special, there will also be talk on state-of-the-art missiles

Defense experts are not considering this visit of Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh as just a formal diplomatic visit. During this busy four-day visit, the Air Force Chief will hold one-on-one meetings with top officials and scientists of France’s most prominent defense companies. These include officials of Dassault Aviation, the giant company that manufactures Rafale aircraft, and MBDA, the company that manufactures advanced missiles like the world’s deadliest ‘Meteor’ and ‘SCALP’. It is believed that this discussion will not be limited to just purchasing aircraft, but an in-depth strategy will also be made on very important topics like technical cooperation suitable to the geographical conditions of India and integrating indigenous weapons and sensors made in India within the Rafale jet.

PM Narendra Modi can also visit France in mid-June, talks will increase with ‘G-to-G’ model

Another big news coming amid these diplomatic activities is that the country’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi can also make an important visit to France in mid-June 2026. If PM Modi’s visit to France happens as per schedule, then this deal of 114 Rafale aircraft is going to be the most prominent agenda in the bilateral talks between the heads of state of the two countries. Let us tell you that this entire deal is being taken forward completely under the ‘Government-to-Government’ model i.e. directly between the governments of two countries. In such a situation, since there is no role of any middleman, mutual understanding and role of the top political leadership of both the countries is being considered most important for this project.

After all, why is the Indian Air Force in urgent need of 114 new multirole aircraft?

At present, the Indian Air Force faces a very serious and big challenge of maintaining its squadron strength. In view of the security of the country’s two-way borders (China and Pakistan), a total sanctioned strength of 42 squadrons has been fixed for the Air Force, but due to continuous retirement of fighter aircraft like obsolete MiG-21, India is currently left with only 29 squadrons. To quickly meet this huge shortage of aircraft, the Defense Ministry has prepared a mega plan to purchase 114 new multirole fighter aircraft (MRFA). France’s Rafale aircraft is considered to be the strongest and favorite contender in this global race because Indian pilots already have great experience in flying it.

The power of ‘Make in India’ will be visible, 94 out of 114 Rafale aircraft will be made directly in India.

The most unique and historic feature of this proposed mega defense deal is its construction model, which completely realizes Prime Minister Modi’s dream of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’. According to sources, out of the total 114 fighter aircraft, only 20 aircraft will be made directly from France and will come to India, while the remaining 94 Rafale jets will be manufactured entirely on Indian soil under the ‘Make in India’ initiative. For this, Dassault Aviation Company of France will form a big joint venture or partnership with a leading domestic defense company of India. The Indian Defense Ministry has set a strict condition of at least 50% indigenization in this entire project, which simply means that many advanced Indian software, radar, electronic systems and deadly indigenous missiles will be installed in these Rafale aircraft to be made in India.

Rafale is already deployed from Ambala to Hashimara, now a mega fleet of 176 aircraft will be formed.

The history of cooperation between India and France regarding defense and Rafale aircraft has been very illustrious and old. Earlier in 2016, both the countries had signed an inter-governmental agreement for 36 Rafale jets under emergency requirements. Successful delivery of all those 36 aircraft to India has long been completed, which are currently deployed at strategic air bases like Ambala and Hashimara to monitor the China and Pakistan border. At present, apart from these 36 Rafale aircraft of the Air Force, the deal for 26 Rafale-M maritime fighter aircraft for the aircraft carriers of the Indian Navy has already reached the final stage. In such a situation, if this latest agreement for these 114 new aircraft for the Air Force is also finalized, then in the coming time, the Indian Army will have such an invincible and superpowerful fleet of a total of 176 Rafale aircraft, which no power in the world will dare to face.