The defence ministry of France has confirmed that India is considering purchasing 90 Rafale F4 fighter jets. It has the option of 24 Rafale F5, which is being observed as India’s interest in the upcoming variant of the Rafale aircraft. The information was made public by the foreign ministry of France, which later removed the post from its website.
The analysis also mentioned a misinformation campaign by China regarding the alleged loss of Indian Rafale jets during Operation Sindoor in May, which was spread by Pakistan.
What the ministry has written in its assessment
The ministry wrote in its assessment of those coordinated disinformation attempts that India’s order for 90 Rafale F4 jets and the option for 24 Rafale F5 jets is an example of the trust that the two countries share.
India has already been operating Rafale fighter jets, which are manufactured by Dassault Aviation. In 1953, India got its first aircraft, the Toofani, from Dassault Aviation. It also received the Mystère IV, the Alizé for the Navy, the Jaguar, and the Mirage 2000 aircraft.
India is ready to buy more Rafale
India’s interest came to light in a follow-on order of Rafale fighter jets in August 2025. A report published in The Times of India stated that the Indian government is working on a Government-to-Government (G2G) proposal to purchase 114 more fighter aircraft under the Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA) programme.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) also suggested that a traditional tender should not be considered and that a swift procurement of the jets should be made to handle the pressure caused by the declining number of squadrons.
Know about the Rafale aircraft
Rafale is a twin-engine, canard delta-wing, multirole fighter jet. The aircraft is manufactured by Dassault Aviation. This fighter jet can accomplish several missions by carrying a series of weapons. These missions are air dominance, air superiority, ground support, deep strike, anti-ship warfare, and nuclear strikes. Rafale’s other version, the Rafale Marine, has been manufactured to serve as an aircraft carrier jet.
