'Same jets, different price': Why India pays more for Rafales while Indonesia pays less - Complete breakdown
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "'Same jets, different price': Why India pays more for Rafales while Indonesia pays less - Complete breakdown")
Representative image. Photograph: (MBDA)
Along with India, Indonesia also signed an order for 42 Rafale jets from France in February 2022, led by its Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto, with the company Dassault Aviation. The deal was divided into three tranches (6 + 18 +18), taking effect sequentially (Feb 2022, Aug 2023, Jan 2024).
The Defence Acquisition Council, chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, accorded Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for capital acquisition proposals worth approximately Rs 3.60 lakh crore to buy 114 Rafale fighter jets from France for the Indian Air Force (IAF). The proposal also includes six P-8I long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft from the United States for the Indian Navy.
Out of 114 Rafale fighter jets, 18 will be delivered by Dassault Aviation in fly-away condition from France, while the other 96 jets will be manufactured domestically under the "Make in India" initiative. The deal includes 88 single-seat and 26 twin-seat variants of the advanced Rafale F4 standard of the jets.
Meanwhile, Indonesia also signed an order for 42 Rafale jets from France in February 2022, led by its Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto, with the company Dassault Aviation. The deal was divided into three tranches (6 + 18 +18), taking effect sequentially (February 2022, August 2023, January 2024).
Interestingly, the Indonesian government signed a deal for 42 Rafale fighter jets worth $8.1 billion, nearly Rs 68,000 crore, putting the cost of each aircraft at roughly Rs 1,747. In comparison, India's agreement for 114 jets is valued at about Rs 3.25 lakh crore, which is nearly Rs 2,850 crore per jet, around 1.5 times more. Following the deal, which shows a sharp differences has fueled questions over India for paying more than Rs 1000 crore extra for each aircraft.
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Why are Rafales costlier for India?
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If the Rafales' all components are compared between both countries, then the higher price reflects a much broader package. India’s deal includes advanced Meteor and SCALP missiles, HAMMER precision-guided bombs, full-mission simulators, long-term maintenance, spares, and technology transfer. In effect, India is paying for the aircraft’s entire life-cycle, making the overall deal more economical in the long run.
This is also not India’s first Rafale purchase. The country earlier inducted 36 jets and later acquired the naval Rafale-M variant. Currently, the Air Force operates 36 Rafales, while the Navy has deployed 26 aircraft on INS Vikrant.
Currently, the IAF has 29 fighter squadrons, but its assessed requirement stands at 42 squadrons with each squadron having 16-18 fighter jets. This new deal of Rafales will help India to close this gap and strengthen readiness across different regions.
