The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday cleared a proposal to procure 26 naval variants of Rafale fighter jets from France at a cost of around Rs 64,000 crore for deployment on board aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, sources in the defence establishment said.
The delivery of the jets will begin around five years after the signing of the contract under an inter-governmental framework between India and France.
According to ANI, the deal is expected to be signed in the coming weeks.
The Indian Navy will receive 22 single-seater aircraft and four twin-seaters, built to operate from aircraft carriers like INS Vikrant.
“The deal will also ensure five years of performance-based logistics support and spares for the 36 Rafale jets already inducted into the Indian Air Force (IAF) in 2016 under a contract worth Rs 59,000 crore,” ANI reported.
In July 2023, the defence ministry accorded the initial approval for the mega acquisition following a series of deliberations and evaluation tests of the platform.
Under the deal, the Indian Navy will also get associated ancillary equipment including weapon systems and spares from Dassault Aviation, the manufacturer of Rafale (Marine) jets.
The Indian Air Force bought 36 Rafale fighter aircraft in fly-away condition.
There is a thinking in the IAF that it should go for at least two more squadrons of Rafale jets.
The defence and strategic ties between India and France have been on an upswing in the last few years.
In July 2023, India and France announced a raft of ground-breaking defence cooperation projects including the joint development of jet and helicopter engines.
The two strategic partners also had expressed commitment to cooperate in the co-development and co-production of advanced defence technologies, including for the benefit of third countries.
The defence ministry also approved a proposal nearly two years back to procure three Scorpene submarines to further crank up India's naval prowess.
However, the CCS has yet to clear the project.
Under the Indian Navy's Project 75, six Scorpene submarines have already been constructed in India by Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) in cooperation with the Naval Group of France.
