NEW DELHI: The Indian Navy is currently conducting trials of the Rafale Marine (M) fighter at its shore-based test facility in Goa and is looking at minor modifications to its aircraft carriers to accommodate the French-origin jet, sources in the defence and security establishment said.
The modifications are being considered in view of the fighter’s non-folding wings, which give it a larger footprint aboard ship. The Rafale Marine has a wingspan of about 10.9 metres, unlike the Navy’s MiG-29K fighters, whose wings fold to reduce the space they occupy during stowage and movement around the flight deck.
“If any minor changes are required on INS Vikramaditya or INS Vikrant, they will be made accordingly. These aspects were discussed during the contract negotiations,” a source said.
The issue concerns the practicalities of handling and stowing the aircraft aboard a carrier, where space is constrained and fighters must be moved between the flight deck and hangar. The Navy is looking at the necessary changes alongside the ongoing trials, the sources said.
The trials are under way at the Shore-Based Test Facility (SBTF) at INS Hansa in Goa, which replicates the ski-jump configuration used by Indian aircraft carriers. The facility allows the Navy to evaluate aircraft performance and operating procedures ashore.
The Rafale M had earlier undergone ski-jump trials at the facility in 2022, when it competed against Boeing’s F/A-18 Super Hornet in the Navy’s search for a new carrier-borne fighter.
The French fighter was designed to operate from the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, which uses catapult-assisted take-off and arrested recovery. India’s carriers use the short take-off but arrested recovery (STOBAR) configuration, under which aircraft launch from a ski-jump ramp and land using arresting wires.
India has contracted 26 Rafale M fighters from France, primarily for deployment aboard INS Vikrant. The acquisition is intended to strengthen the Navy’s carrier-borne combat capability and address the limitations of its ageing MiG-29K fleet. The fighters will undertake air-defence, maritime-strike and reconnaissance missions.
The Modi government inked an inter-governmental agreement (IGA) with France in April last year for the aircraft at a cost of approx. Rs 63,000 crore. The package includes 22 single-seat fighters and four twin-seat trainers, along with weapons, simulators, training and logistics support.
The Rafale M is equipped with the Thales RBE2 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar and the SPECTRA electronic-warfare suite. Its weapons include the Meteor beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile, MICA air-to-air missiles and precision-guided air-to-surface weapons.
The agreement also provides for the integration of the homegrown Astra beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM), subject to trials and certification.