Rafale M carries out maiden landing, take-off on INS Vikrant

A Rafale Marine, or Rafale M, landed on and took off from INS Vikrant for the first time. The event was part of ongoing trials before India inducts the aircraft into naval service. It matters because a carrier-based fighter must prove it can safely operate from the ship, not just from a land runway.

French pilots had already conducted similar trials at a shore-based test facility in Goa. The Vikrant trials move that work onto India’s indigenous aircraft carrier. Vikrant currently uses Russian-origin MiG-29K fighters, which take off using a ski-jump and land with arrestor wires.

India ordered 26 Rafale Ms from France in April 2025. Deliveries under the ₹63,000-crore contract are scheduled to begin in 2029 and finish by 2031. The successful trials are an early step toward operating these fighters from India’s two aircraft carriers.

The Rafale M is Dassault Aviation’s Rafale Marine fighter. India is buying it for the navy, which will operate the aircraft from its two aircraft carriers. Its importance lies in giving the navy a modern fighter that can operate at sea rather than depending only on land-based airfields.

A naval fighter must be strengthened and equipped for carrier operations. It needs to take off from a short shipboard deck and land precisely using arrestor wires. Carrier aircraft also require equipment and procedures suited to saltwater, ship movement, and limited deck space. These features distinguish the Rafale M from the land-based Rafale used by the Indian Air Force.

The article identifies India’s existing land-based fleet as 36 IAF Rafales. Separately, India ordered 26 Rafale Ms for the navy in April 2025. Their carrier trials have begun, with deliveries planned from 2029 through 2031.

STOBAR is a carrier operating method in which aircraft leave the deck after using a ski-jump and return by catching arrestor wires. The system allows fighters to operate from a carrier without a conventional runway. It combines a raised launch ramp with a cable-assisted landing system.

INS Vikrant currently operates Russian-origin MiG-29K fighters using this method. The ski-jump angles the aircraft upward at take-off, helping it leave the relatively short deck. During landing, the fighter’s hook catches an arrestor wire, which rapidly slows and stops it on the ship.

The Rafale M’s first landing and take-off from Vikrant shows that the aircraft is being tested in this carrier environment. The article does not state whether India will alter Vikrant’s STOBAR arrangement for the Rafale M. It does establish that the carrier currently uses this system with MiG-29K fighters.

INS Vikrant is India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier and a large floating air base. It is 262 metres long and displaces 45,000 tonnes. Its size allows the navy to carry aircraft, personnel, equipment, and support systems together at sea.

The carrier has 15 decks and 2,300 compartments. It has room for 30 aircraft and a crew of 1,600. The ship also has an endurance of 7,500 nautical miles, allowing it to remain at sea over long distances. Its indigenous content is 76 percent.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi commissioned Vikrant in September 2022. It took 13 years to build and cost ₹20,000 crore. The carrier is now central to India’s plans for operating both its existing MiG-29Ks and future Rafale Ms at sea.

Carrier operations leave little room for error. A fighter must launch from a short deck, return to a moving ship, and stop using arrestor equipment. Testing these actions verifies that the aircraft, carrier, pilots, and procedures work together safely before regular operations begin.

Rafale Ms had previously undergone similar trials at a shore-based facility in Goa. The Vikrant trial was different because it placed the aircraft on the navy’s actual indigenous carrier. The first landing and take-off therefore provide practical evidence for the next stages of integration, training, and operational preparation.

India ordered 26 Rafale Ms in April 2025, but deliveries will not begin until 2029 and will finish by 2031. The article describes the current trials as the first steps toward operationalising the fighters. Combat deployment would require further testing, delivery, crew training, and acceptance, though the article does not give a final operational date.

The MiG-29K already gives INS Vikrant an operating fighter, but buying Rafale Ms adds another aircraft type to India’s carrier aviation plans. The Rafale M is intended for the navy’s two aircraft carriers. This helps India prepare a broader and newer carrier-based fighter force rather than relying on the current fleet alone.

Vikrant presently operates Russian-origin MiG-29Ks. They use the carrier’s ski-jump for take-off and arrestor wires for recovery. The Rafale M is now undergoing its own shipboard trials, showing that India is checking how the new aircraft performs on the carrier before induction.

India ordered 26 Rafale Ms from France in April 2025 under a ₹63,000-crore contract. Dassault Aviation will manufacture them. Deliveries are expected to start in 2029 and finish in 2031, so the MiG-29K fleet remains important while the new fighters enter service.

An aircraft carrier is a mobile base for launching, recovering, maintaining, and supporting military aircraft. It allows a navy to bring air power closer to areas where it has no nearby airfield. This makes the carrier a valuable instrument for sustained operations and national presence at sea.

INS Vikrant illustrates the idea. The 45,000-tonne carrier has room for 30 aircraft and a crew of 1,600. Its ski-jump launches fighters, while arrestor wires recover them. Aircraft can therefore operate from the ship instead of depending entirely on runways on land.

The article says India operates two aircraft carriers and has used carriers for decades. Vikrant is the navy’s fourth carrier, after the first INS Vikrant, INS Viraat, and INS Vikramaditya. The Rafale M trials could strengthen this seaborne air capability, but the article does not specify future missions or deployment areas.