A Dassault Rafale Marine climbs away beside the ski-jump of the Indian aircraft carrier INS Vikrant during trials in October 2026

Rafale Marine Landing on INS Vikrant: Maiden Attempt Succeeds

by Fortuné Leroy | Nov 1, 2026 | Aviation militaire, Nouvelles | 0 comments

On Thursday 29 October 2026, a Dassault Rafale Marine lined up behind INS Vikrant, India’s first home-built aircraft carrier, dropped its hook and came aboard. It was the first time the French naval fighter had landed on an Indian deck, and the Indian Navy says it made it on the first attempt.

The Navy announced the landing on X the following day, 30 October, and said the ongoing trials “mark the first steps towards operationalisation of the aircraft in the Indian Navy.” It comes barely a week after Afterburner reported that Rafale M trials had begun in Goa to work out what the jet needs to operate from the ship.

Informations clés

Aéronef: Dassault Rafale Marine (Rafale M), twin-engine carrier fighter
Événement: First landing on INS Vikrant, at the first attempt
Date: Thursday 29 October 2026; announced by the Indian Navy on 30 October
Carrier: INS Vikrant, about 45,000 tonnes, STOBAR (ski-jump launch, arrested recovery), commissioned 2 September 2022
Earlier types: HAL Tejas naval prototype and MiG-29K, first landings 6 February 2023
Commande: 26 jets (22 single-seat, 4 two-seat), signed 28 April 2025, about ₹63,000 crore
Livraisons : Expected from late 2028 or early 2029

The third fixed-wing type on Vikrant’s deck

The Navy released video and photographs of the Rafale Marine landing but did not say which aircraft was used or who flew it. India’s own jets have not yet been delivered. France’s defence news site Opex360 reported that a Dassault Aviation test pilot was at the controls and that, in the Navy’s footage, the jet caught the No. 3 arrester wire.

The Rafale is now the third fixed-wing type to land on Vikrant. On 6 February 2023, a naval prototype of the HAL Tejas and a MiG-29K made the carrier’s first arrested landings and take-offs. The 45,000-tonne ship was built by Cochin Shipyard and commissioned on 2 September 2022.

A catapult jet on a ski-jump ship

The Rafale M was designed for France’s nuclear-powered carrier Charles de Gaulle, which launches its jets with catapults and catches them with arrester wires. Vikrant has no catapult. Its aircraft take off under their own power up a ski-jump at the bow and land on wires, a layout known as STOBAR.

The landing half of that equation is familiar to any Rafale M pilot. The jet has a heavily reinforced undercarriage, an arrester hook and a “jump strut” nosewheel, and it has enough low-speed performance to leave a ski-jump without modification. In January 2022, two jets of French Naval Aviation proved it at the shore-based ski-jump at INS Hansa in Goa, during the competition the Rafale M won against the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.

An Indian Navy officer watches from the island of INS Vikrant as a Rafale Marine moves along the flight deck — An Indian Navy officer watches a Rafale Marine on the flight deck of INS *Vikrant* during the October 2026 trials, the first time the type has operated from the carrier. Indian Navy photo

What the trials still have to settle is the ship itself: deck handling, fuel, weapons and the lifts. Unusually for a carrier aircraft, the Rafale M cannot fold its wings, and Clash Report notes that the fit between the fighter’s dimensions and Vikrant’s aircraft elevators is one of the things the Navy is assessing.

The French have done a first landing like this before. In April 1993, the Rafale M prototype M01, flown by test pilot Yves Kerhervé, made the type’s first deck landings aboard the carrier Foch, as Opex360 recalls. Thirty-three years later, the same type has taken its first wire on a ship built in India.

Twenty-six jets on order

India signed for 26 Rafale M on 28 April 2025: 22 single-seat fighters and four two-seat trainers, in a deal worth about ₹63,000 crore. The Indian Naval Air Arm is the first user of the naval Rafale outside France. Deliveries are expected from late 2028 or early 2029, according to The Week.

“On behalf of Dassault Aviation and its partners, I would like to thank the Indian authorities, with whom we have been working for more than 70 years, for their confidence in us and reaffirm our unwavering determination to stand by their side to contribute to India’s expression of its sovereign power, its strategic challenges and its ambitious vision of the future.”

Éric Trappier — Chairman and CEO of Dassault Aviation, on the signature of the Indian Rafale Marine contract, April 2025

The jets will fly first from Vikrant and later from India’s older carrier, INS Vikramaditya, taking over from the Russian-built MiG-29K. The Force aérienne indienne already operates 36 Rafales, so the Navy gains a type whose spares, support and training India already knows.

The contract also covers weapons, including the Meteor long-range air-to-air missile and the Exocet anti-ship missile, and performance-based logistics support.

NDTV’s report on the Rafale Marine’s first landing aboard INS Vikrant on 29 October 2026.

First trap, not the finish line

One successful landing does not make an operational squadron. The Navy itself framed the trials as a first step, and the work ahead covers ski-jump launches with fuel and weapons, deck procedures and everything else a jet needs to live aboard a ship for months at a time.

An Indian Navy officer shakes hands with a pilot in Dassault Aviation flight gear on the deck of INS Vikrant — An Indian Navy officer shakes hands with a pilot wearing Dassault Aviation flight gear on the deck of INS *Vikrant* after the Rafale Marine trials. Indian Navy photo

Still, the hardest question had a simple answer on 29 October. The French jet and the Indian deck have now met, and the first attempt was all it took.

Sources: Indian Navy (on X, 30 Oct 2026), PTI via ThePrint, The Week, Opex360, India Sentinels, Clash Report, Dassault Aviation (via EDR Magazine), Wikipedia (INS Vikrant; Dassault Rafale)

Foire aux questions

When did the Rafale Marine first land on INS Vikrant?

A Rafale Marine first landed on the Indian aircraft carrier INS Vikrant on Thursday 29 October 2026, during ongoing trials. The Indian Navy announced the landing on X on 30 October and said the jet landed successfully on its maiden attempt, calling the trials the first steps towards putting the aircraft into service.

Who flew the Rafale Marine onto INS Vikrant?

The Indian Navy did not name the pilot or say which aircraft was used. The French defence news site Opex360 reported that a Dassault Aviation test pilot was at the controls. India’s own Rafale Marine fighters have not yet been delivered; deliveries are expected from late 2028 or early 2029.

Which aircraft have landed on INS Vikrant?

Three fixed-wing types have now landed on INS Vikrant. A HAL Tejas naval prototype and a MiG-29K made the carrier’s first arrested landings on 6 February 2023. The Rafale Marine became the third type when it landed on 29 October 2026.

Why is INS Vikrant different from the Rafale M’s French carrier?

The Rafale M was designed for France’s Charles de Gaulle, which launches jets with catapults. INS Vikrant has no catapult: aircraft take off up a ski-jump and land on arrester wires, a layout called STOBAR. The Rafale M can use a ski-jump without modification, but deck handling and ship systems still have to be tested.

How many Rafale Marine jets has India ordered?

India ordered 26 Rafale Marine jets on 28 April 2025: 22 single-seat fighters and four two-seat trainers, in a deal worth about 63,000 crore rupees. The Indian Navy is the first user of the naval Rafale outside France, and the jets will fly from INS Vikrant and later INS Vikramaditya.

Which aircraft will the Rafale Marine replace in the Indian Navy?

The Rafale Marine will take over from the Russian-built MiG-29K, which currently flies from India’s carriers INS Vikrant and INS Vikramaditya. The Indian Air Force already operates 36 Rafales, so the Navy gains a fighter whose spares, support and training India already knows. Deliveries of the naval jets are expected from late 2028 or early 2029.