Better Late Than Never: France Dispatches First Rafale Fighter Batch to India

France has dispatched the first five of 36 Rafale fighter jets to India, after an $8.7 billion deal was signed in 2016. The aircraft are set to stop over in the United Arab Emirates before reaching the country, and following clashes between Indian and Chinese forces in the Galwan Valley area in mid-June the Rafales are set to be deployed near the northern border. The Rafale is a light-medium weight ‘4+ generation’ fighter jet, and is a successor to the Mirage 2000 fourth generation jet which currently serves in a strike role for the Indian Air Force. The Rafale’s suitability for operations near the Sino-Indian border has been brought to serious question, since unlike the. MiG-29UPG currently relied on for border operations, the Rafale has a very low flight ceiling and is not optimised for operations at high altitudes. Not only will the Rafale be the slowest fighter in the Indian Air Force, but it will also have the lowest flight ceiling in the fleet - with even the ageing Soviet supplied MiG-21BiS having a significantly higher speed and operational altitude. 

The Rafale will set India’s Defence Ministry back over $240 million per jet, making the deal highly controversial and fuelling allegations of corruption. India first showed interest in acquiring new French fighters around 2011, but disagreements over a final contract due to strict French terms for licence production, and the very small size fo the Rafale’s production line in France, has meant that it has taken several years before the first aircraft are ready for delivery - and will take several more before the order is completed. This has contrasted sharply with India’s other major supplier of modern combat jets, Russia, which has been able to supply full squadrons of MiG-29 and Su-30 jets - both much larger than the Rafale - within months due to its far greater industrial capacity. Despite its shortcomings in flight performance, upon entering service the Rafale will be considered the second most capable fighter in the Indian Air Force due to its advanced sensor suite, avionics and electronic warfare systems which partly compensate for weaknesses elsewhere. Still, its ability to go head to head with newer generations of Chinese fighters has been seriously questioned. While France has pressed for further sales to the South Asian state, exorbitant prices, a very long delivery schedule and ongoing scandals regarding the sale mean Delhi could well be deterred from further purchases - instead focusing on its indigenous Tejas fighter program and on acquiring more Russian fighter jets such as the new ‘4++ generation’ MiG-35.