India Races to Buy more Rafales due to internal crisis

Defence affairs - Def-Geopolitics.

India’s largest-ever fighter aircraft deal risks turbulence as Dassault Aviation resists handing over Rafale source codes, even as the IAF battles its lowest squadron strength in history.

India is accelerating its push to acquire 114 additional Rafale fighter jets under a government-to-government (G2G) framework, in what could be the single largest fighter aircraft deal in its history.

The move comes as the Indian Air Force (IAF) grapples with its lowest-ever squadron strength, a crisis worsened by the imminent retirement of the MiG-21 fleet that has long been the backbone of India’s aerial defence.

Pakistan’s reported acquisition of 40 J-35 stealth fighters from China could also have played a decisive role in New Delhi’s reported move to expand its Rafale fleet in order to preserve the regional balance of airpower.

The induction of the J-35, with its fifth-generation stealth features and long-range strike capabilities, would significantly strengthen Pakistan’s aerial combat potential and compel India to accelerate its efforts to safeguard its technological edge.”

Yet, New Delhi’s Rafale ambitions for the 4.5 generation French-made fighter jet face a potentially deal-breaking obstacle: France’s refusal to hand over the Rafale’s source code, the digital heart that governs mission systems, weapons integration, and avionics.

Despite persistent lobbying, Dassault Aviation has held the line, arguing that the software architecture represents decades of sensitive industrial know-how and cannot be surrendered to foreign operators.

India, however, insists that code access is critical for embedding indigenous weapons such as the Astra beyond-visual-range (BVR) missile, Rudram anti-radiation missile, and Smart Anti-Airfield Weapon (SAAW) into the Rafale’s ecosystem.