Rafale fighter jets for Indian Navy: India and France are nearing a deal for the acquisition of Rafale Marine fighter jets for Indian aircraft carriers. The Indian Navy requires 26 fighter jets capable of operating from its aircraft carriers.
After several rounds of negotiations, the price offer has been significantly reduced, and the deal will be benchmarked on the 2016 deal for 36 Rafale jets acquired for the Indian Air Force.
The acquisition is likely to be discussed during National Security Advisor Ajit Doval‘s visit to Paris this week, along with an order for three additional Kalvari class submarines to be built in Mumbai, according to an ET report.
Sources indicate that, in addition to being compatible with the Air Force fleet, the naval jets will be outfitted with specialized anti-ship weaponry and long-range fuel tanks for maritime operations. They will also feature the Meteor beyond-visual-range air-to-air missiles, the most advanced in the region.
Rafale deal for Indian Navy
After evaluating both Boeing F/A 18 Super Hornet and Rafale M, the Indian Navy selected the latter on technical grounds. Commercial discussions between India and France have been ongoing for more than a year, with the deal being processed under the government-to-government route, similar to the previous acquisition of Rafale jets for the Air Force.
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The Defence Acquisition Council, led by Rajnath Singh, approved certain amendments that led to the offering of a final price bid. These included dropping an earlier plan to integrate an Indian radar and weapons on the naval jets due to the high cost and estimated timeline of eight years for completion.
The Rafale Ms are being purchased as a stop gap arrangement until the development of indigenous twin-engined deck-based fighters by the Aeronautical Development Agency.