On Friday November 24, Dassault Aviation, Safran and Thales, which together make up Rafale International, were invited by the Centre Val de Loire Regional Council and Aerocentre to the aeronautical forum being held in Tours, to present its creation of an industrial aeronautical sector in India, as part of the ‘Make in India’ offsets programme for the Rafale India contract.

To an audience of more than fifty French SMEs attending this Business to Business event, the Rafale International partners presented their contribution to the ‘Make in India’ policy as part of the Rafale Offset programme and presented the potential opportunities for French SMEs to also invest and set up production activities in India.

By reinforcing Franco-Indian cooperation regarding SMEs in the Defense aeronautical sector and by encouraging and supporting French SMEs coming to India as part of the offsets programme for the Rafale Contract signed in September 2016, this initiative will help set up an industrial ecosystem that will be of benefit to both French and Indian partners under Prime Minister Modi’s ‘Make in India’ initiative...

The contacts made and the discussions held during this event defined a roadmap for the French SMEs, to help them join the Dassault Aviation, Safran and Thales global supply chain, thus opening the door to them for new international market opportunities.

Dassault Aviation aircraft have been an integral part of Indian defense forces for over six decades. The first Dassault Aviation aircraft, Toofani was supplied to India in 1953, followed by the Mystere IV, the naval Alize, the Jaguar (manufactured under license by the Hindustan Aeronatical Limited), and the Mirage 2000. These aircraft have contributed to Indian sovereignty all along and the Mirage 2000 fighter aircraft continues to be the Indian Air Force’s ‘cutting edge’ till date. 36 Rafales fighter aircraft has been acquired on 23 September 2016 to equip the Indian Air Force.

Rafale International is a Joint-venture (G.I.E Groupement d’Intérêt Economique) set up by Dassault Aviation, Safran Group and Thales to promote the Rafale fighter aircraft to international customers. The three partners are major international leaders in the aerospace and defense fields with more than 1,35,000 employees and a turnover of 28 billion Euros.