Prior to moving on to the next phase, India’s Ministry of Defence has made significant revisions and strengthened pledges in the Indian Air Force’s 114-fighter Medium Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA) procurement.
The study points out that workshare distribution, lifetime cost analysis, and local industrial participation—all of which are currently being prioritised in accordance with national procurement reforms—do not have enough clarity.
If the Rafale platform continues to lead, officials have allegedly urged Dassault Aviation to provide a more thorough indigenisation roadmap. This includes concrete assurances regarding supply chain localisation, knowledge transfer, and the development of a comprehensive Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) ecosystem in India. To guarantee long-term self-reliance, the emphasis also includes avionics integration, critical systems manufacture, and export-permissible production facilities.
The defence ministry’s position is similar to the organised methods of industrial engagement that were implemented in recent naval projects and the C295 transport aircraft agreement, which both mandated export-compliant production standards and Make in India provisions. New Delhi wants to avoid relying on imported assembly in the future by requiring clear technology-sharing agreements and verifiable production work packages.
In order to guarantee financial predictability over three decades of service, lifecycle cost validation and operational sustainment mechanisms are also being strengthened. The updated requirements place more emphasis on local repair networks, guaranteed spare part availability, and long-term upgrade flexibility for domestic armament and avionics systems.
As evaluation teams revise documents to include these updated standards and get legally enforceable industrial commitments from candidates, the MRFA timeframe may need to be modified. India’s strategy move away from direct acquisition and towards co-development collaborations that strengthen the defence manufacturing base is highlighted by this policy improvement.
Dassault Aviation will likely be subject to more scrutiny under the updated MRFA framework than in its previous transactions, which will force it to go beyond the degree of localisation provided during the Rafale-M and initial Rafale-F3R acquisitions. Additionally, it can put strain on supply chain management and logistics coordination to guarantee efficient operations and prompt component delivery in the suggested localisation process.
Rival candidates including Boeing’s F-15EX, Lockheed Martin’s F-21, SAAB’s Gripen-E, and Eurofighter Typhoon could regain traction by providing deeper Indian alliances or joint manufacturing lines if the French proposal fails to meet the improved industrial benchmarks.
The Defence Ministry has made a significant shift by favouring long-term strategic autonomy and indigenous capability above quick procurement cycles, as seen by its insistence on binding industrial engagement and transparent cost models.
