India is planning to enhance its long-range strike capability and aerial firepower by procuring a significant number of beyond-visual-range air-to-air (BVRAAM) Meteor missiles for its Rafale fighter aircraft fleet.
Rafale is currently the only fighter jet in the Indian Air Force (IAF) fleet capable of firing this missile, manufactured by a consortium of European partners, including the UK, Germany, Italy, France, Sweden and Spain, known as MBDA. The IAF acquired Meteor missiles as part of the first batch of 36 Rafale fighter jets procured from France in 2016.
These missiles, which have the largest no-escape zone of any air-to-air missile system and are equipped with impact and proximity fuses and a fragmentation warhead, will also be integrated into the naval Rafales, which will arrive in India soon.
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According to news agency ANI, a proposal regarding this, worth Rs 1,500 crore, is in the advanced stage in the defence ministry and is expected to be approved by a high-level meeting sometime soon.
While it was not explicitly confirmed that the Indian security forces used Meteor missiles during Operation Sindoor, India did employ long-range standoff weapons to strike Pakistani military and terrorist targets. It is possible that Meteor missile's advanced capabilities compared to medium- or long-range missiles (MRAAMs) may have influenced India's broader air combat strategy post-Operation Sindoor, and thus the decision to procure more of them.
The all-weather capability of the missile to engage a wide variety of targets strengthens India's air-dominance and deterrence posture, as it has been designed to meet the most stringent of requirements of the forces in the most severe environment. The missile will become particularly lethal in changing dynamics of warfare where UAVs are increasingly becoming rampant, as guided by an advanced active radar seeker, the Meteor missile can engage a wide variety of targets from fighter jets to small drones and cruise missiles.