Emmanuel Macron on Thursday defended the proposed 114 Rafale deal with India, asserting that they are “committed to having a maximum number of Indian content” in the multi-role fighter aircraft for the Indian Air Force (IAF), which, as per him, will make the “country stronger” and “create more jobs.”
“We are always increasing indigenous components. It’s part of this dialogue between the company and your government. And I mean, I don’t see how people can criticise because it makes your country stronger. It increases the strategic connection between us, and it creates more jobs here. And so, very clearly, we are extremely, I would say committed to having a maximum number of Indian components and manufacturing a maximum number of critical device in India. This is exactly the rational and that has deal. So we will do the same for the Rafale. You can count on us,” Macron told reporters.
India seeks higher local content
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, in the bilateral meeting with Catherine Vautrin, French Minister of Armed Forces and Veterans, on February 17, insisted on higher Indian Content (IC), including for mounting indigenous weapon systems, radars and avionics on the proposed Rafales.
Earlier, after the Defence Acquisition Council cleared the deal, likely to cost around ₹3.25 lakh crore for 114 Rafales, Defence Secretary RK Singh had also stated that manufacturer Dassault Aviation has agreed to offer close to 40 per cent localisation, but he stated that India is confident of taking it to 50 per cent and beyond.
The majority of the aircraft will be co-produced in India following the government-to-government deal expected to be inked later this year.
Existing fleet and fresh orders
The IAF already has 36 Rafales, and the Indian Navy last year inked a fresh deal to acquire 26 marine versions of the aircraft at a cost of ₹63,000 crore.
As per the initial negotiations, Dassault will set up a final assembly line, as well as a manufacturing facility for sub-assemblies and a Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) centre for the Rafales. This would be similar to what Airbus, together with Tata Advanced Systems Ltd, did for the production of C295 transport aircraft in India for the IAF.
Sources aware of the development stated that Dassault has proposed the transfer of technology for the production and maintenance of airframes, engines and avionics. The aircraft, if the deal goes through, is proposed to emerge from the proposed final assembly line — the first outside France — in the next three-and-a-half years, as per the Defence Secretary.
As part of the negotiations, India will initially buy armaments under the proposed Rafale contract and later fit them with Indian weapons as production shifts here.
In the past, opposition parties, especially the Congress, had alleged that procurement procedures were bypassed in the acquisition of the first lot of 36 Rafale fighter aircraft and had questioned the escalation in per-aircraft cost. However, the Supreme Court of India, in a judgment delivered on December 14, 2018, upheld the Rafale contract, ruling out any irregularity or corruption as alleged by the opposition parties.
Published on February 19, 2026