The delay surrounding India's largest defense deal—the purchase of 114 Rafale fighter jets from France's Dassault Aviation—appears to be coming to an end after the agreement was unexpectedly not signed earlier this year. Delhi has approved the Letter of Request (LoR) and will send it to Paris.
It specifies the need to procure 114 aircraft, 90 of which must be manufactured under localization terms requiring 50% of components to be produced in India, according to the Indian Express. It has also been reported that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi plans to visit France in late June. The Chief of the Indian Air Force will visit earlier next month ahead of the trip.
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It should be noted that a Letter of Request is required to initiate the signing of a firm agreement. It contains the requirements, specifications, quantities, and other important terms of the procurement. A response must be provided confirming whether the agreement can be concluded and specifying the price. After that, India will be able to prepare a Request for Proposal (RFP) with the final details. The next step is the signing of a firm contract.
The contract for 114 Rafale jets is expected to be signed by the end of the year. The Indian publication also reports that India is continuing negotiations to integrate its own weapons, including the Astra air-to-air missile and the BrahMos anti-ship missile, by gaining access to the fighter's weapons control system interfaces. At the same time, there is still little prospect of carrying out this work independently without access to the source code.
From Defense Express we would like to note that the issue of access to the Rafale's software—along with the possibility of upgrades—is believed to be the main reason for the delay in signing the agreement. At the same time, France's position is driven by concerns over the risk of exposing sensitive Rafale systems and onboard algorithms to russia. russia could obtain access to the fighter's code under the pretext of integrating the BrahMos, the export version of the Oniks missile.
However, this is not the only aspect of the deal directly linked to Ukraine. The Ukrainian Air Force has announced plans to purchase 100 Rafale jets, but those plans may be becoming increasingly uncertain. Funding may currently be the key issue, as India is preparing to spend approximately $40 billion on 114 Rafale jets. However, once the order is finalized, production capacity will become the next major question.
As of early 2026, Dassault's firm order book stood at 220 aircraft, while production in 2025 totaled 26 Rafales, slightly surpassing the target. India's order for 114 aircraft would increase Dassault's order backlog by 52%. This will also affect delivery schedules for all subsequent orders, even if plans to accelerate production and partially localize manufacturing are implemented.
If the 114-Rafale deal is finalized, russia is likely to lose this market for its Su-57 fighter jet, for which it had planned to offer 84 units while meeting all of Delhi's requirements.
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