India on Monday signed a ₹63,000-crore defence deal with France to procure 26 Rafale marine fighter jets for its navy, the agreement’s terms mandating the establishment of a production facility for the aircraft’s fuselage in India.
Sources said the Rafale-M jets, manufactured by Dassault Aviation, are expected to be delivered between 37 and 65 months, with the delivery scheduled for completion
by 2030.
The jets will be deployed primarily on board the indigenously built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, with India looking to strengthen its maritime strike capabilities, especially in the Indian Ocean Region, a navy official said.
“The Governments of India and France have signed an inter-governmental agreement (IGA) for the procurement of 26 Rafale aircraft (22 single-seater and four twin-seater) for the Indian Navy,” India’s defence ministry said in a statement.
“It includes training, simulators, associated equipment, weapons and performance-based logistics. It also includes additional equipment for the existing Rafale fleet of the Indian Air Force.”
The agreement includes technology transfer for the integration of indigenous weapons in India, a production facility for Rafale fuselage, as well as maintenance, repair and overhaul facilities for the aircraft’s engine, sensors and weapons in India.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh and Sebastien Lecornu, the French minister of armed forces, signed the agreement. “The delivery of these aircraft would be completed by 2030, with the crew undergoing training in France and India,” the defence ministry said.
Sources said the Rafale-M, a naval version of the Rafale fighter jet, is designed specifically for carrier-based operations.
The Rafale-M can carry out a wide range of missions, including deep strikes, air defence and reconnaissance. It is said to be an “omnirole aircraft” capable of conducting air-to-air and air-to-ground missions simultaneously.
France had in December 2022 completed the delivery of the agreed 36 Rafale jets for India’s air force under a ₹59,000-crore government-to-government deal signed in
September 2016.
That deal had got embroiled in controversy after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced it during his April 2015 visit to France.
Its terms included an offset clause, under which the supplier had to spend half the money in India. Dassault decided to end its negotiations with the central PSU HAL and created a joint venture with Anil Ambani’s Reliance Infrastructure to meet its offset obligations. This led to allegations that the Modi government was giving preferential treatment to the Ambanis.