India is set to sign a deal on procuring 26 Rafale-Marine (Rafale-M) fighter jets for the Indian Navy from France on Monday, that is estimated to cost around `63,000 crore, sources have said. The government-to-government deal is being signed by the Defence ministers remotely. But the signing ceremony will be presided by Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh and French ambassador Thierry Mathou. Some government-to-business agreements will be signed on Monday as well.
This follows the approval by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in early April when they gave the final nod for the procurement of 26 Rafale-M fighter jets from France for the Indian Navy.
Sources said that the Rafale-M jets include 22 single-seater jets that can operate from aircraft carriers and four twin-seater trainer jets, which are not carrier-compatible. The delivery of the jets will begin in 2028-29 after the contract is signed and is expected to be completed by 2031-32.
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In July 2023, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) had approved proposals to procure 26 Rafale Marine aircraft, and the approval had coincided with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day Paris visit.
The Rafale-M fighter jets would come along with associated ancillary equipment, weapons, simulator, spares, documentation, crew training and logistic support. Their procurement from the French Government is on an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) basis.
Four of these 26 aircraft are likely to be the trainer version.
With the MiG-29 Ks slated to be phased out in the next few years, procuring the jets is an interim arrangement for the Navy’s aircraft carriers—INS Vikramaditya (procured from Russia) and indigenously-built INS Vikrant—till it acquires the indigenous Twin Engine Deck-Based Fighter which is currently under development by Aeronautical Development Agency under the DRDO.
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For the Navy’s fighter jet deal, the competition was between Boeing’s F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet and Dassault Aviation’s Rafale-M. While both fighters had met the Navy’s requirements, the Rafale-M had common spares and support as the Rafale jets operated by the Indian Air Force.
The Rafale jets, which were acquired after the Balakot aerial strike, have added to the Indian Air Force’s firepower. The 36 Rafael fighter jets have been stationed in India’s strategic air bases bordering Pakistan and China. The two sides have always prioritised co-production, co-development of military hardware with a focus on India’s self-reliance goals.
In the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack that has killed 26 people including 25 Indians, French President Emmanuel Macron had called up PM Modi on Thursday and “conveyed his personal condolences on the brutal killing of innocent people in the heinous terror attack in the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir”.
