A French Navy Rafale M has landed and taken off from the Indian aircraft carrier INS Vikrant for the first time, an important step toward the introduction of the fighter into Indian Navy service.
The French aircraft conducted the tests on October 29, with the Indian Navy reporting a successful arrested landing on the first attempt. The Rafale M subsequently took off from Vikrant using the carrier's ski-jump.
The operation is particularly relevant because the Rafale M was designed for catapult-equipped aircraft carriers. In French service, the fighter operates from the Charles de Gaulle, where steam catapults accelerate aircraft during takeoff.
INS Vikrant uses a different arrangement known as STOBAR, in which fighters take off under their own power and use the curved ski-jump at the bow to become airborne. Aircraft return to the carrier using arresting wires, as on the French ship.
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Rafale M had already demonstrated its ability to use a ski-jump during trials at INS Hansa in Goa in January 2022. The latest campaign takes that work to the actual flight deck from which India's future Rafales will operate.
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Rafale versus Super Hornet
The 2022 trials were part of India's search for a new carrier fighter. Boeing subsequently brought two F/A-18E/F Super Hornets to Goa to demonstrate the American fighter's ability to operate from the same ski-jump facility.
Rafale M and Super Hornet emerged as the main contenders for the requirement, which originated with a 2017 request for information for 57 Multi-Role Carrier Borne Fighters. India later reduced the planned acquisition to 26 aircraft.
The Indian Navy also evaluated its domestic Naval LCA Tejas during the development of its carrier aviation plans. The aircraft ultimately remained a technology demonstrator rather than the service's next operational carrier fighter. A Naval Tejas made its first landing and ski-jump takeoff aboard INS Vikrant in February 2023.
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India selected the Rafale M later that year. The decision gave the Indian Navy a carrier fighter related to the Rafales already operated by the Indian Air Force and ended the competition with the Super Hornet.
India and France signed the contract for 26 aircraft in April 2025. The approximately Rs 630 billion (US$7.4 billion at the time) agreement covers 22 single-seat Rafale M fighters and four two-seat Rafales for land-based training.
From French deck to Indian ski-jump
The four two-seat aircraft will not operate from carriers because the naval Rafale is produced only as a single-seater. The 22 Rafale M aircraft will operate from Vikrant and INS Vikramaditya, eventually succeeding the Indian Navy's Russian-built MiG-29K fleet.
Deliveries have yet to begin and are scheduled to be completed by 2030.
