Convinced of its effectiveness during the aerial battles of Operation Sindoor, India is set to acquire more SCALP (Storm Shadow) missiles for its Rafale fighter jets, a report said. Between 100 and 150 missiles are expected to be procured under the deal, valued at approximately USD 356 million (₹3,225.91 crore), the report added.
New Delhi decided to speed up the deal as officials were happy with SCALP's performance against the Chinese air-defence systems that Pakistan had deployed. The Indian Air Force (IAF) inventory needs to be replenished after having used its assets in the May 2025 conflict. The IAF is reportedly convinced that there is no need to look elsewhere to restore stand-off attack depth when they have a reliable and effective option like SCALP.
The Storm Shadow missiles have an operational range of over 250 kilometres in the basic configuration, which reaches around 560 kilometres for the export variant. A creation of European defence major MBDA, SCALP missiles operate at subsonic speeds of around Mach 0.8 while flying at very low altitudes, and can penetrate hard structures with delayed explosion capability.
SCALP missiles during Operation Sindoor
During Operation Sindoor, India launched its BrahMos missiles from Sukhoi-30s and SCALP missiles from Rafale jets. During the final stage of the 88-hour-long conflict, the IAF used its Su-30MKI, Jaguar, and Rafale aircraft to fire BrahMos, SCALP-EG, and Rampage missiles from within its own airspace, striking seven sites up to 200 kilometres inside Pakistan. A PAF command-and-control centre at Nur Khan Air Base and a control centre at Murid Air Base were struck among several other targets during this operation.
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Sargodha Air Base in central Pakistan, home to multiple combat squadrons, was rendered inoperative after being repeatedly struck by several Indian missiles at the intersection of its runways. Sukkur Air Base, Rahim Yar Khan Air Base, Murid Air Base, and Rafiqi Air Base were also targeted and hit by India. The strikes were part of New Delhi's quasi-immediate counter-strike after Pakistan had scheduled an attack on the evening of 9 May.
The SCALP missiles executed precision strikes after managing to evade Pakistani radars, forcing Islamabad to press for a ceasefire. The long-range missiles ensured that the Rafale jets could deliver lethal blows from a safe distance, without being bothered by Chinese long-range missiles. Operation Sindoor proved that the Storm Shadow could be the perfect strike combo alongside the indigenously built BrahMos for targeting fortified positions.
The Rafale aspect
It is beyond doubt that the Rafale will be the IAF's primary deep-strike aircraft, and India is expected to buy at least another 114 aircraft from France. Under the deal, the IAF is expected to receive 88 single-seat and 26 twin-seat aircraft. The majority (around 80 per cent) of these fighter jets will be made in India through collaboration between Dassault and Indian private-sector defence companies.
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The SCALP acquisition is coordinated with parallel acquisitions, such as Meteor air-to-air missiles, to ensure that Rafale squadrons are equipped for precision strikes and air-superiority maintenance when the need arises, Defence Security Asia said in a report. The agenda is to ensure operational availability in line with current contingency planning rather than peacetime usage assumptions, it claimed.
