Dassault planning Rafale Assembly Line in India with an eye on Indian Navy & Air Force orders

Dassault Aviation of France is on track for constructing a Rafale assembly line in India in anticipation of orders from the Indian Navy and Air Force. According to sources close to the process, India may soon become the first country to construct a 4.5-generation fighter aircraft without the involvement of an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM).

 

 

Dassault now maintains a backlog of around 200 Rafales, which includes unfulfilled contracts for 80 aircraft for the UAE, 42 for Indonesia, 12 for Croatia, Egypt 54, Greece 24, Qatar 36, and a possible 26 for the Indian Navy.

 

According to the sources, with Dassault's present capacity restricted to 24 aircraft per year, there is a solid rationale for Dassault to construct an extra production line at its Indian joint venture, DRAL.

 

India is a large market, and the Indian Air Force is considering acquiring 114 fighter planes.This RFP is likely to be issued within the next six months.

 

This will be one of the world's largest orders for fighters. An order for 26 aircraft for the Indian Navy is also anticipated to be finalized within the next six months, with delivery beginning in 2027.

 

According to sources, the Rafale manufacturing line at DRAL,MIHAN SEZ Nagpur would see an extra 500,000 square feet of infrastructure distributed across four hangars, with production beginning in 2028.

 

The annual capacity is set at 24 planes per year, or two planes every month. At an estimated price of Rs 1,000 crore per aircraft in 2028, annual sales will be Rs 24,000 crore.

 

This will require an additional investment of close to Rs 3,000 crore. In terms of job chances, DRAL will have more than 600 employees to suit the needs of the Falcon 2000 final assembly line. With Rafale, this might exceed $1,200.