Rafale-M Jets:
The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), chaired by the Prime Minister, approved a ₹63,000-crore deal for procuring 26 Rafale-M fighter jets from France for the Indian Navy.
- Initially, under the MMRCA tender (2007), India planned to acquire 126 jets with technology transfer, which was shelved in 2015.
- A direct deal in 2016 led to 36 Rafale jets for the IAF, delivered between 2019-2022.
- The deal includes 22 single-seater Rafale-M jets for carrier operations and 4 twin-seater trainer variants, which are non-carrier compatible.
- The jets are meant to operate from INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant, India’s two operational aircraft carriers.
- Dassault Rafale is a 5 generation, twin-engine, delta-wing, multirole fighter aircraft manufactured by Dassault Aviation.
- Capable of speeds up to Mach 1.8 and a combat radius exceeding 1000 km.
- Designed for air superiority, ground support, reconnaissance and anti-ship missions.
