New Delhi: The Indian Air Force (IAF) has sought minimum 40 percent indigenous content for 96 Rafale F4* fighters to be manufactured in India under a proposed government-to-government agreement with France, which will be scaled up to 60 percent with the final batch, ThePrint has learnt.
The key demands were part of the Letter of Request (LOR) sent to France late May. Sources in the defence and security establishment said that the French government is expected to send in their responses in September, the time by which they are obligated to respond.
The LOR is a formal government-to-government document to initiate a procurement, as opposed to the commercial procurement route.
Sources said that the LOR mentions that of the 114 aircraft, 18 will come in flyaway condition, while the remaining 96 will be manufactured in India.
According to the IAF’s demands, there needs to be a minimum 40 percent indigenous content with the first aircraft manufactured. This would go up in batches and by the time the last batch comes in, the aircraft needs to have 60 percent indigenous content.
Sources said that according to discussions with the French side prior to issuance of the LOR, Rafale fighter manufacturers Dassault Aviation have already outsourced the fuselage to TATA.
They are now scouting for a partner to manufacture the wings of the Rafale. Moreover, the company has tied up with certain Indian companies for manufacturing some Line Replaceable Units (LRU) and components.
All this, they believe, will take up the indigenous content to over 40 percent, along with a tie-up between European firm Thales and state-run Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) for the AESA (active electronic scanning array) radar.
It was not clear whether it will be a continuation of the existing tie-up under which BEL makes the T/R (transmit/receive) module for the RBE2 radar on-board the Rafale or whether it will be more than the basic being done now under the offset clause.
Incidentally, Thales-BEL cooperation has been expanded to production of advanced technological microwave modules dedicated to the Rafale SPECTRA EW (Electronic Warfare) suite.
Sources said that Dassault has assured that with the Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility they are planning to set up in India, the indigenisation content could touch an overall figure of 80 percent of the fighter itself.
Asked if the price of the deal could cross the about Rs 3.25 lakh crore earmarked for the project, sources said it was unlikely to happen.
ThePrint was the first to report in April last year that the Indian government has decided to go in for 114 Rafale for the IAF and that the formal process would start later that year.
In the second half of 2025, the IAF formally moved a proposal to acquire the Rafale following which discussions happened at the defence ministry and government-to-government levels.
ThePrint had also in January this year reported that the IAF is planning to seek 60 percent in indigenous content and the upgrade of the existing F3-R plus version with the force to F4*.
The F4 standard focuses on improving the connectivity of the Rafale through new satellite and intra-flight links, communications servers, and software radios, improving its effectiveness in net-centric combat and paving the way for the Future Combat Air System (FCAS).
If the deal is signed early 2027, the delivery of the first 18 in flyaway condition will start from 2030 onwards.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)