First Indian-made core components of Rafale? The Rafale fighter jet's Indian factory has started construction!
November 23, 2025, "Eurasia Times" report, India is accelerating the implementation of the global production center for the French Rafale fighter jet. It is reported that the Rafale fighter jet has already secured 533 confirmed orders, with users covering countries such as France, India, Egypt, and Qatar, and the production schedule has been extended to 2030. Since June this year, Tata Advanced Systems, a subsidiary of the Tata Group, has started the production of Rafale fuselages. These fuselages manufactured in India will be supplied to global orders, with an annual output of 25 units, and the first products are expected to be completed by the 2028 fiscal year. This marks the first time that core structural components of the Rafale have been manufactured outside of France.
"Eurasia Times" also said that the current Indian military is lobbying the government to purchase an additional 114 Rafale fighters. If this order is realized, France will allow India to build an independent Rafale production line on its own soil, and the M88 engine overhaul plant in Hyderabad, India, has already started work. Subsequently, a maintenance factory with the capability to perform complete aircraft overhauls will also be built. Cooperation in the field of engines is not limited to this; Safran Group is working with India's DRDO to develop an engine with a thrust of 120 kilonewtons for India's indigenous fifth-generation fighter jet AMCA, which is comparable to the WS-10B level. Safran has promised to transfer 100% of the technology, including the core single-crystal blade process, with the goal of increasing the thrust to 140 kilonewtons. The project plans to be completed within 12 years.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1849726422640704/
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