How many Rafale jets does France have?

The Rafale is the only fighter jet France manufactures and operates, sharing the inventory only with the Mirage 2000-5 and 2000D, whose retirement is planned for the 2030s. The Air and Space Force receives the two-seat Rafale B and the single-seat Rafale C, distributed across bases such as Saint-Dizier and Mont-de-Marsan; the French Navy operates the Rafale M, with reinforced landing gear and an arrestor hook, from Landivisiau and the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle. Flotillas 11F, 12F and 17F completed the transition to the Rafale M in 2016 after retiring the Super Étendard.

France signed its first production contract in 1993 and has ordered the aircraft in five batches. The first four totaled 192 aircraft, with deliveries slowing when the State transferred part of its fleet to export customers: in 2021 it sold 12 used aircraft to Greece and another 12 to Croatia, and ordered 12 new ones to replace them. In January 2024 the Ministry of the Armed Forces signed the fifth batch, 42 aircraft for around 5 billion euros, bringing the French total to 234. With these, the air force will reach 185 Rafales and the Navy will keep its 41 until the new-generation aircraft carrier arrives.

The fleet is upgraded by standards: the F3-R integrated the Meteor missile and the Talios targeting pod; the F4, being delivered since 2023, adds connectivity, new sensors and the Mica NG missile; and the F5, expected around 2030, will incorporate the ASN4G nuclear missile and an accompanying drone. Outside France, the Rafale has over 280 orders from Egypt, Qatar, India, Greece, Croatia, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia and Serbia, securing the Mérignac assembly line for many years to come.