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Chandigarh: The Dassault Reliance Aerospace Limited (DRAL) facility in Nagpur, tentatively set to produce a bulk of the 114 Dassault Rafales recently proposed for procurement by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) for the Indian Air Force (IAF), is poised to emerge as the cornerstone of the country’s continually postponed Multi-Role Fighter (MRFA) programme.

While few formal details of the Rafale acquisition have been publicly disclosed by either the MoD or the IAF, industry sources and other officials associated with the project revealed that 96 of these 114 twin-engine French fighters are likely to be built at DRAL, with the remaining 18 delivered in fly-away condition.

Located in Nagpur’s MIHAN (Multi-modal International Cargo Hub and Airport at Nagpur) special economic zone, DRAL was established in October 2017 as a 51:49 joint venture between Reliance Infrastructure’s subsidiary, Reliance Aerostructure Limited – then owned by Anil Ambani – and France’s Dassault Aviation.

Created amid controversy and legal challenges to fulfil the offset obligations from the IAF’s 2016 purchase of 36 Rafales for Rs 59,000 crore – under which Dassault was required to locally reinvest 50% of the overall contract value in India’s aerospace sector – DRAL began operations in 2018. From then onwards, it manufactured components for Rafale fighters and Dassault’s Falcon-2000 long-range executive jets, which were subsequently shipped to France for final fitment onto these two platforms.

But in September 2025 – possibly presciently anticipating the 114-Rafale procurement – Dassault raised its stake in DRAL to 51%, acquiring an additional 2% stake for around Rs 176 crore and turning the joint venture into a Dassault subsidiary. Its infrastructure and expertise now position DRAL as a potential hub for Rafale production in India and possibly as a second fighter production facility outside France to execute export orders.

However, Reliance’s future operational role in DRAL remains unclear, particularly as Anil Ambani and his associates face ongoing financial and regulatory scrutiny. Consequently, this uncertainty could complicate timelines and reputational optics for Dassault as the $30-35 billion Rafale deal proceeds through the high-visibility government-to-government (G2G) framework.

Under projected schedules, local Rafale production in India is unlikely to begin before 2028-29, highlighting the programme’s prolonged gestation. But once underway, key fighter sections for the 96 Rafales under the 2018-19 MRFA programme guidelines – including incorporating 40-60% indigenous content – will be manufactured by Tata Advanced Systems Limited in Hyderabad, following four production transfer agreements it signed with Dassault in mid-2025.

These include manufacturing the fighters’ fuselage sections at a complex in Hyderabad, covering key structural........

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