India signed a €7.87 billion deal with Dassault Aviation in 2016 to acquire 36 Rafale fighter jets. All 36 aircraft were delivered between 2019 and 2022. These jets were inducted into the IAF’s No. 17 ‘Golden Arrows’ squadron based in Ambala and Hasimara, giving India a strategic air power advantage. India signs ₹63,000 crore deal with France for 26 Rafale-M naval jets to strengthen maritime strike capabilities amid Indo-Pacific tensions. Deliveries to begin in 2029. In late April, India signed a new deal with France’s Dassault Aviation to purchase 26 additional Rafale jets for the Navy, worth ₹630 billion ($7.4 billion). Before the clash, the Indian Air Force operated 36 Rafale fighters, while the navy's aircraft fleet mainly comprises Russian MiG-29 jets. India signed a deal with France's Dassault Aviation on Monday to buy another 26 Rafale fighter aircraft worth 630 billion rupees ($7.4 billion) for its navy in late April.
