India is set to sign a ₹63,887 crore (Euro 6.6 billion) deal with France on Monday to buy 26 Rafale-Marine fighter jets for INS Vikrant.read more
India will sign a ₹63,887 crore (Euro 6.6 billion) deal with France on Monday to buy 26 Rafale-Marine fighter jets, which will mainly operate from the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, The Times of India reported.
This comes as French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu could not travel to India as planned, due to rising tensions between India and Pakistan after the Pahalgam terror attack by Pakistani terrorists, which claimed 26 innocent lives. India has alleged cross-border links to the terror attack.
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Senior defence officials from both countries will sign the deal in New Delhi, while the two defence ministers will finalise it remotely via video conferencing.
The deal includes 22 single-seat Rafale-M jets, four twin-seat trainers, weapons, simulators, crew training, maintenance support, and five years of performance-based logistics. It also covers spares and equipment for the 36 Rafales already used by the Indian Air Force.
Rafale-M to operate from INS Vikrant
These carrier-capable aircraft will operate from the INS Vikrant, India’s first indigenously built aircraft carrier. The Rafale-M jets are expected to enhance India’s maritime strength in the Indo-Pacific region.
The Indian Air Force operates 36 Rafale jets, organised into two squadrons stationed at Ambala (Haryana) and Hashimara (West Bengal).
As India is set to add the Dassault Rafale Marine (Rafale-M) fighter jets to its navy, it will give a major boost to its navy amid calls of free and open Indo-pacific and rising Chinese push in the region.
India’s biggest defence deal
On April 9, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the purchase of 26 Rafale-M jets.
This is India’s largest foreign defence deal so far, bigger than the ₹59,000 crore contract in 2016 for 36 Rafale jets for the Indian Air Force (IAF).