Aircraft
More Rafale Fighters for India?
At a time when it prepares to formally accept its first aircraft, India appears likely to sign for a second batch of Rafales in the coming months.
India is acquiring both single- and two-seat Rafales. The aircraft feature significant Israeli equipment content. (Photo: Dassault/Katsuhiko Tokunaga)
India is acquiring both single- and two-seat Rafales. The aircraft feature significant Israeli equipment content. (Photo: Dassault/Katsuhiko Tokunaga)

A new order for a further 36 Dassault Rafale fighters will be signed in early 2020, suggests a recently published report by the Indian Defence Research Wing. Moves toward ordering a second batch were first reported in early 2017 and attributed to rising tensions with China. The new order would take India’s Rafale fleet to 72 aircraft—slightly more than half of the original 126-aircraft total outlined in the Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA or MRCA) requirement, an RFP for which was issued in 2007.

An order for a second batch of Rafales would likely spell the end of U.S. efforts to sell Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornets or Lockheed Martin F-21 (F-16V) Vipers to India and could help Dassault to win a place on the team developing India’s new fifth-generation AMCA (Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft).