French President Emmanuel Macron, who was on a three-day visit to India, had praised the defence partnership between India and France and claimed that "Make in India" will be a "core" component of the 114 Rafale fighter jets that India is set to procure from France.
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In its largest-ever defence acquisition move, India's Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) cleared the long-pending proposal to procure 114 Rafale fighter jets under the Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA) project, 18 of which will be supplied in a fly-away condition by Dassault Aviation.
People familiar with the development have claimed that the remainder will be manufactured in India with around 50 per cent indigenous content, which will be met in phases.
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"On Rafale, what we want to do is expand. India confirmed a few days ago its willingness to command a new bunch of Rafales... 114... and to co-produce in India," Macron had said.
While further details of the Rafale deal, including plans for co-production, which are likely to be sealed after technical and commercial negotiations and details about who will be the joint partner, are yet to be made public, reports suggest that the deal will come with its own limitations.
In any defence deal, a complete transfer of technology has always remained largely illusory. Despite Macron's tall promises of co-production of Rafale fighters in India, and the claim that the fighter jet deal is a "new step forward" in defence ties between the two countries, French media reports reveal that India will not have access to the source code of the Rafale's main electronic and electronic warfare systems, including the Thales RBE2 AESA radar, Modular Mission Computer or the Modular Data Processing Unit (MDPU) hailed as the “brain” of Rafale, and the electronic warfare suite (SPECTRA).
According to a report in French media outlet L’Essentiel de l’Éco, this restriction limits India's ability to independently integrate indigenous weapons like the Astra BVRAAM or the Rudram missile without support from France and its defence contractors.
As dependency on French defence contractors for every software modification and weapon integration raises long-term costs, risks, supply chain disruptions, and possibly undermines India's self-reliance defence goals, New Delhi is expected to demand specific commitments regarding jobs, local content, and engineering transfers, with stricter monitoring than under the first contract involving 36 Rafales, according to the report.