Rafale Marine trials are under way in Goa, where the Indian Navy is testing the modifications the French fighter needs to fly from the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, defence officials said on Wednesday.

The Navy has contracted 26 of the jets. Officials said they are scheduled to be delivered by the end of 2028 or early 2029.

A photograph of a Rafale family jet against the clouds over Goa, shared on social media by former Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Arun Prakash (Retd), had drawn attention earlier this week. The officials' account on Wednesday confirmed that a trial campaign was running, and set out its purpose.

The aircraft is no stranger to naval decks. When the contract was signed in April 2025, the Ministry of Defence described the Rafale Marine as "a carrier-borne combat-ready aircraft with proven operational capabilities in maritime environment."

Rafale Marine trials focus on changes for INS Vikrant

Officials said the trials cover the modifications required for carrying out operations from INS Vikrant, the first aircraft carrier designed and built in India, commissioned in September 2022. Vikrant launches its fighters off a ski-jump ramp and recovers them with arrester wires, a layout known as Short Take-Off But Arrested Recovery, or STOBAR.

The French Navy flies its Rafale Marine from the Charles de Gaulle, which uses catapults. That is the main difference the Indian programme has to bridge.

A carrier fighter for Vikrant has to get airborne off the ramp carrying its weapons and a full load of fuel, according to reporting from the evaluation stage. Earlier reporting had also pointed to adjustments that would let the jet fit the carrier's aircraft lifts, which were sized for the MiG-29K. The officials' account on Wednesday covered the purpose of the trials rather than individual changes.

Goa's shore-based test facility has hosted the Rafale Marine before

Goa is home to the Navy's Shore Based Test Facility (SBTF) at INS Hansa, near Dabolim. The facility recreates carrier conditions on land, with a mock-up ski-jump around 283 metres long.

The Rafale Marine flew there for 12 days in January 2022, when the Navy was choosing a fighter for Vikrant. Emmanuel Lenain, then French Ambassador to India, said the tests checked the aircraft's take-off from an Indian carrier deck. "It has done very well," he said. The Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet was put through trials at the same facility later that year, and the Navy's choice of the Rafale Marine was announced in July 2023.

Contract for 26 Rafale Marine fighters signed in April 2025

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and French Minister of Armed Forces Sebastien Lecornu signed the agreement in New Delhi on 28 April 2025. The signed copies were exchanged at Nausena Bhawan in the presence of Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh.

The order covers 22 single-seat fighters and four twin-seat trainers. Training, simulators, associated equipment, weapons and performance-based logistics are part of the package, according to the ministry. The deal was valued at around Rs 63,000 crore, according to reports at the time, and also included additional equipment for the Indian Air Force's existing Rafale fleet.

At signing, the ministry said deliveries would be completed by 2030, with crews trained in France and India. Officials now place the last deliveries at the end of 2028 or early 2029.

The agreement carries an Aatmanirbhar Bharat component. It includes transfer of technology for integrating indigenous weapons on the aircraft, a production facility in India for the Rafale fuselage, and maintenance, repair and overhaul facilities in the country for the aircraft's engines, sensors and weapons.

Rafale Marine to fly from INS Vikrant and INS Vikramaditya

The jets are meant mainly for Vikrant, with operations also planned from INS Vikramaditya. They will gradually take over from the Navy's MiG-29K fleet, which currently flies from both carriers.

The Indian Air Force already operates 36 Rafales. With the naval order, India will have 62 aircraft of the type, and the ministry has said the commonality will help optimise training and logistics for both services. France has separately submitted its proposal for 114 Rafale jets for the Air Force, which the Ministry of Defence and the Air Force are studying.

The Rafale Marine trials in Goa add to a busy year of naval contact between the two countries. The French frigate Languedoc made a four day port call at Mormugao in Goa in September, ahead of the 24th edition of Exercise Varuna off Toulon.

French Navy Rafale Marine jets to support pilot training

Earlier reporting had said the French Navy would make some of its own Rafale Marine aircraft available to help Indian pilots train before the first Indian jets arrive. INS Hansa was named in that reporting as the main hub for the fleet, alongside the naval base at Karwar, INS Dega near Visakhapatnam and INS Rajali in Tamil Nadu.