New Delhi: French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday rejected criticism of the Rafale deal with India, saying it makes “your country stronger”.“We’re always working to increase local ingredients. It’s part of the dialogue between the company and your government.
“I don’t see how people can criticize because it makes your country stronger, increases our strategic coordination, and creates more jobs here.”
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“It is very clear that we are very committed to sourcing as many Indian components as possible and manufacturing as many important devices in India as possible,” he added.“The Indians, who are currently the customers, want to co-produce with us; we have seen the Rafale here, but they want to co-produce the fighter jets in India.
“They want to handle more maintenance, which is legitimate,” Macron said.
Earlier this month, the Ministry of Defense paved the way for what officials described as the “mother of all defense deals”, as the Defense Acquisition Council (DAC) approved the purchase of 114 Rafale fighter jets from France.
Why India matters
The deal represents a major step in enhancing the combat capability of the Indian Air Force (IAF) at a critical juncture.
Although the United States and Russia offered fifth-generation fighters — the F-35 and Su-57 — defense planners ultimately viewed the Dassault Rafale as a combat-ready, combat-ready platform that could be fielded without the long timelines associated with newer-generation aircraft.This decision comes at a time when India is working to bridge the widening capabilities gap. While New Delhi has placed orders for 180 Tejas Mark 1A aircraft under its domestic programme, production delays linked to engine supplies have slowed deliveries. The Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), India’s proposed fifth-generation stealth fighter, is not expected to enter operational service before the mid-2030s. In this context, the Rafale acquisition is a crucial stopgap, ensuring that the IAF maintains its squadron strength and technological superiority during the transition period.The operational value of the Rafale has already been proven. During Operation Sindoor, Rafale aircraft deployed SCALP cruise missiles with a range of 250 km in precision strikes on terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan’s Muridke and Bahawalpur provinces. The missile system – guided by inertial navigation, GPS, terrain-referenced navigation, and an infrared imaging seeker – enabled deep penetration attacks with high precision.
