India clears biggest-ever jet deal: 26 Rafale for ₹63,000 crore
What's the story
The Indian government has cleared a massive deal of almost ₹64,000 crore with France for the purchase of 26 Rafale-Marine fighter jets.
The deal was cleared by the Prime Minister-led Cabinet Committee on Security and is a government-to-government deal for two variants of the aircraft, ANI reported.
They include 22 single-seat Rafale-Ms and four twin-seat trainers.
The contract also includes weapons, simulators, crew training, and five-year performance-based logistics support.
Contract details
Additional provisions and delivery timeline
In addition, the deal includes upgrades, equipment, and spares for the 36 Rafales already being used by the Indian Air Force (IAF) under a previous contract signed in September 2016.
The new Rafale-M fighters will be specially tuned for naval operations and will be delivered within 37-65 months, sources told TOI.
These fighters will be deployed on INS Vikrant, India's first indigenous aircraft carrier, and will supplement the Navy's current MiG-29K squadron.
Procurement adjustments
Amendments and interim solutions for naval operations
The Defence Acquisitions Council (DAC), chaired by Rajnath Singh, last September cleared four amendments to the deal.
One was the scrapping of the proposed integration of an advanced electronically scanned array (AESA) radar being developed by DRDO with the French fighters, as it would have cost and time.
The Navy currently flies only 40 of the 45 MiG-29K jets inducted from Russia. The new Rafale-Ms are an essential stopgap till indigenous options are available.
Submarine deal
Upcoming collaboration for Scorpene submarines
Apart from the Rafale-M, another major deal with France is on the verge of being sealed.
It is a ₹33,500 crore contract for three more diesel-electric Scorpene submarines to be manufactured by Mazagon Docks (MDL) in partnership with French firm Naval Group.
The first sub from this batch will be launched by MDL six years after contract signing.