India has proven its curiosity within the procurement of 26 Rafale-M (Marine) fighter jets for the Indian Navy, alongside a proposal from the Indian Air Drive (IAF) to amass 114 Rafale plane to be manufactured domestically beneath the “Make in India” initiative. Notably, India’s determination to develop its Rafale fighter fleet might face new strategic issues as latest reviews counsel that France’s export insurance policies towards Gulf nations could also be compromising delicate army know-how.
France’s sale of Dassault Rafale multirole jets to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has raised rising issues amongst safety analysts. The difficulty gained traction after reviews emerged that Qatari and Emirati air forces had allowed Pakistani and Turkish pilots to coach on their Rafale and Mirage platforms, not directly exposing key efficiency and digital warfare traits of the French jets.
India, which inducted 36 Rafale plane between 2020 and 2022 beneath a 7.87 billion Euro deal, used the fleet successfully throughout Operation Sindoor, a high-intensity train in opposition to simulated Pakistani targets. The Indian Air Drive (IAF) has since been contemplating a follow-on order for 26 Rafale-M variants for plane provider INS Vikrant, and probably extra for its land-based squadrons. Nonetheless, the unrestricted Rafale exports to states with historic army ties to Pakistan and Turkey at the moment are prompting strategic reconsideration.
Europe-based safety researcher Babak Taghvaee, whose detailed evaluation of arms transfers and know-how leakage has gone viral amongst protection watchers, warned that “Macron’s administration is unintentionally empowering NATO’s adversaries by recklessly promoting Dassault Rafale fighters to the UAE and Qatar with out correct export-control safeguards.”
“A putting case is Turkey’s cooperation with Qatar. Ankara has accelerated coaching of its F-16 pilots and S-400 operators to counter the Hellenic Air Drive’s Rafales, utilizing six Qatari Rafale DQ/EQ fighters deployed to Turkey. Comparable instruction continues in a joint Turkish-Qatari squadron in Qatar. By permitting an in depth French protection buyer to reveal Rafale efficiency and signatures to a state threatening a NATO ally, Paris once more demonstrates the hazard of its permissive export coverage,” wrote Taghvaee in his weblog.
When the French authorities ignores reputable nationwide safety issues, the media turns into the one device left to carry it accountable.
Macron’s administration is unintentionally empowering NATO’s adversaries by recklessly promoting Dassault Rafale multirole fighters to the UAE and… pic.twitter.com/aTkp28tMCF
— Babak Taghvaee – The Disaster Watch (@BabakTaghvaee1) October 25, 2025
The dangers usually are not theoretical. The UAE has beforehand transferred Mirage 2000-9EAD know-how and MICA missile knowledge to China, which analysts imagine supported Beijing’s work on PL-10 and PL-15 air-to-air missiles. Emirati Mirage plane had been additionally noticed in China throughout 2023–2024 as a part of a bilateral coaching program with the Individuals’s Liberation Military Air Drive (PLAAF).
Such developments might erode the technological edge India and its allies at the moment get pleasure from. Any overlap between the Rafale programs operated by Qatar or the UAE and Pakistan’s publicity to them instantly impacts IAF’s fight confidentiality, famous defence analysts.
Scripting new chapters in inter operability, an @Armee_de_lair Rafale fighter captures photographs of his wingman, an #IAF Su-30MKI, whereas flying over the deserts of Rajasthan, as a part of #ExerciseGaruda VII. (1/2) @rajnathsingh @IAF_MCC @giridhararamane pic.twitter.com/9nD9XufKEX
— Ministry of Defence, Authorities of India (@SpokespersonMoD) November 2, 2022
Consultants additionally level out that France’s lack of strict end-user monitoring—particularly in comparison with US protection gross sales—has enabled unintended know-how diffusion. The UAE’s rejection of the F-35A was reportedly pushed by Washington’s stringent management clauses, whereas Paris imposed few restrictions.
Business observers warn that the difficulty might backfire on France’s protection credibility inside NATO, particularly if delicate knowledge leaks end result within the compromise of Rafale’s Spectra digital warfare suite or radar signature profiles.
If conflicts involving NATO or India come up the place Rafale jets face opponents outfitted with Chinese language or Russian missile programs, analysts argue that Paris’s lax export management regime might find yourself eroding the plane’s survivability.