Rafale M Makes First Landing on INS Vikrant, India’s First Carrier Trial
A French Navy Rafale M fighter landed aboard India’s indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant on October 29, 2026, succeeding on its first attempt and opening a new phase of integration trials ahead of the type’s entry into Indian Navy service. The Indian Navy confirmed the landing a day later, calling the event the first step toward operationalizing the Dassault-built fighter on its carrier fleet. The trial follows India’s $7.4–7.5 billion order for 26 Rafale Marine aircraft, signed with France in April 2025, and comes as New Delhi works to replace its ageing Russian-origin MiG-29K/KUB carrier fleet.
What Happened
According to the Indian Navy, a Rafale M touched down on INS Vikrant on October 29, 2026, and the landing was successful on the maiden attempt. The Navy announced the milestone on October 30 via an official statement and accompanying imagery, describing the trials as “the first steps towards operationalisation of the aircraft in the Indian Navy.” Multiple Indian defense outlets, including The Print, The New Indian Express and The Week, corroborated the Navy’s account, though none identified the aircraft’s exact origin unit or confirmed whether the flight was flown by a French or Indian pilot.
The carrier landing was preceded by weeks of shore-based preparation. In mid-October, a Rafale M was observed operating from INS Hansa in Goa, home to the Indian Navy’s Shore Based Test Facility (SBTF), where the aircraft practiced ski-jump take-offs and arrested-style approach landings replicating the profile used aboard Vikrant. The aircraft involved in the trials is understood to be drawn from the French Navy’s (Marine Nationale) existing Rafale M fleet, since India’s own navalized Rafales are not yet delivered.
The Product/System
The Rafale M is the carrier-capable variant of Dassault Aviation’s twin-engine, delta-wing Rafale multirole fighter, structurally reinforced for catapult launches and arrested landings and fitted with a strengthened undercarriage, a retractable boarding ladder and specialized avionics for naval operations. It is currently flown operationally only by the French Navy aboard the nuclear-powered carrier Charles de Gaulle.
INS Vikrant, India’s first domestically designed and built aircraft carrier, entered service in September 2022 and uses a Short Take-Off But Arrested Recovery (STOBAR) configuration: a ski-jump ramp for launch and arrester wires for recovery. This differs fundamentally from the catapult-assisted take-off, barrier-arrested recovery (CATOBAR) system the Rafale M was designed around for French carrier operations, and it is the central technical reason the Indian trials matter. Because the Rafale M’s delta wings do not fold, and the aircraft’s wingspan exceeds the dimensions of Vikrant‘s deck elevators, the Indian program has required detachable wingtip missile rails and reported minor elevator modifications to allow the jet to move between the flight deck and the hangar. India’s older carrier, INS Vikramaditya, will need similar adaptations before it can operate the type.
Who Uses It
France’s Marine Nationale is the only confirmed operator of the Rafale M, flying it from the Charles de Gaulle. India becomes the second confirmed Rafale M customer following its 2025 contract, though no aircraft have yet entered Indian Navy service — the October 29 landing was a trials event using Marine Nationale-linked aircraft and personnel, not an induction. Egypt and other export customers operate the land-based Rafale but not the M variant.
Procurement History
India’s Cabinet Committee on Security cleared the purchase of 26 Rafale Marine aircraft on April 8, 2025, at a value reported around ₹63,000 crore (roughly $7.5 billion); the government-to-government contract was signed on April 28, 2025, with the French Ministry of Defence and Dassault Aviation citing a figure near $7.4 billion. The order comprises 22 single-seat Rafale M fighters, intended to operate from INS Vikrant, and four twin-seat Rafale trainer variants restricted to land-based instruction, since no carrier-capable two-seat Rafale M exists. The deal followed a 2022 Shore Based Test Facility fly-off at INS Hansa in which the Rafale M was evaluated against Boeing’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornet; India selected the French aircraft to replace its Soviet/Russian-origin MiG-29K/KUB fleet, which has been affected by availability and maintenance issues.
Deliveries are not expected to begin before 2028, with full delivery of the 26-aircraft order projected to run into 2030, according to reporting following the April 2025 signing. The contract reportedly includes transfer-of-technology provisions tied to integrating Indian-made weapons systems, and industrial arrangements separate from this order — including a Tata Advanced Systems fuselage facility intended to build airframe sections domestically from fiscal year 2028 and planned Dassault/Safran maintenance facilities in India — point to a broader effort to localize Rafale support infrastructure rather than treat this as a one-off import.
Global Competitors
Within India’s own naval aviation roadmap, the Rafale M’s main domestic rival is the indigenous Twin Engine Deck Based Fighter (TEDBF), a program that has not progressed to prototype flight and was not positioned as a near-term alternative in India’s 2025 Technology Perspective Capability Roadmap. The naval variant of the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft, LCA (Navy), has conducted its own trials aboard both Vikrant and Vikramaditya and is more commonly discussed as a carrier-fighter trainer than a frontline replacement. Internationally, the Rafale M’s closest competitor in the carrier-fighter segment remains the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, which India evaluated and passed over in 2022, and, at the high end, carrier-capable fifth-generation aircraft such as the US F-35C, which India has not sought to acquire.
Why It Matters
The successful first landing is a necessary, but early, step in a multi-year qualification process rather than confirmation that the Rafale M is ready for shipboard service. It demonstrates that the baseline French Navy airframe can operate from a STOBAR deck it was not originally designed for, validating assumptions behind India’s 2025 purchase decision before any Indian-specification aircraft have been built or delivered. For the Indian Navy, the trial reduces technical risk on a program meant to retire the troubled MiG-29K/KUB fleet and extend meaningful fixed-wing strike and air-defense capability to both of its operational carriers. For Dassault, it reinforces the Rafale M’s case as the only carrier fighter with a recent, demonstrated STOBAR compatibility track record, at a moment when the manufacturer is simultaneously expanding production capacity in France and establishing a parallel manufacturing and sustainment footprint inside India.
What Happens Next
Indian and French officials have not published a detailed trials schedule beyond characterizing the October 29 landing as an initial step. Further carrier-integration trials are expected to test take-off performance, deck-handling procedures, and the elevator and wingtip-rail modifications under a wider range of conditions before India’s own Rafale M airframes, due no earlier than 2028, are cleared to begin squadron-level operations. Reporting has also noted that additional Rafale M orders beyond the current 26 cannot be ruled out given the uncertain timeline of the TEDBF program, though neither government has confirmed any follow-on discussions.
FAQ
Has India received any Rafale M aircraft yet?
No. The aircraft used in the October 29, 2026 landing on INS Vikrant was linked to France’s Marine Nationale fleet. India’s own 26 Rafale Marine aircraft, ordered in April 2025, are not expected to begin arriving before 2028.
Why does the Rafale M need modifications to operate from INS Vikrant?
Vikrant uses a STOBAR (ski-jump launch, arrested-wire recovery) configuration, while the Rafale M was designed for catapult-assisted French carrier operations. Its non-folding delta wings also exceed the width of Vikrant‘s deck elevators, requiring detachable wingtip missile rails and reported elevator adjustments.
What is the Rafale M replacing in Indian Navy service?
It is intended to replace India’s Russian-origin MiG-29K/KUB carrier fighters, which have faced sustained serviceability and maintenance challenges.
How much is India paying for its Rafale Marine order?
India’s April 2025 contract for 26 aircraft (22 Rafale M fighters and four land-based twin-seat trainers) is valued at approximately $7.4–7.5 billion, according to Indian government and French defense-industry reporting.
Will INS Vikramaditya also operate the Rafale M?
Indian Navy and industry reporting indicate Vikramaditya, India’s other operational carrier, will require similar deck and elevator modifications before it can support Rafale M operations, though no separate trials timeline for that carrier has been published.
Sources
- Adithya Krishna Menon, “Rafale M Conducts Maiden Trials onboard Indian Aircraft Carrier INS Vikrant,” Naval News, Nov. 1, 2026 (event date Oct. 29, 2026) — primary technical account of the landing and modification requirements. navalnews.com
- PTI via The Print, “Rafale Marine aircraft successfully lands on INS Vikrant: Navy,” Oct. 30, 2026 — official Indian Navy confirmation and quote. theprint.in
- Naval News, “India Orders 26 Rafale Marine carrier-based aircraft for $7.5 billion,” April 2025 — procurement figures and aircraft mix. navalnews.com
- Republic World, “Indian Navy Conducts Rafale-Marine Trials In Goa For INS Vikrant Operations, 26 Jets To Arrive By 2029,” Oct. 30, 2026 — shore-based trials context and delivery timeline. republicworld.com
- The Week, “Before 26 Rafale Marine jets arrive, Indian Navy begins crucial trials for INS Vikrant,” Oct. 22, 2026 — background on SBTF Goa trials preceding the carrier landing. theweek.in
