India inked a historic government-to-government agreement with France on Monday worth Rs 63,000 crore, under which it will acquire 26 Rafale-Marine fighter jets to bolster the Indian Navy.
The agreement has been signed at a time when security concerns are mounting in light of China's increasing maritime power in the Indo-Pacific region.
The deal, to be fulfilled on the basis of an Inter-Governmental Agreement, will include direct delivery free of middleman involvement. The deal consists of 22 single-pilot jets and four twin-pilot instructors and all of them have to be delivered by 2031.
The deal is based on the latest Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) nod on April 9 led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The 26 Rafale-M combat aircraft manufactured by Dassault Aviation will be handed over between 37 to 65 months. The whole delivery would be completed by 2030-31, a top official informed.
Indian Navy will also get from France under the pact military weapons, spares, ancillary equipment needed, crew training, and support logistics. The components will be manufactured locally under the offset provisions of India's 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' mission as well.
The Rafale-M fighter aircraft will be operated on India's aircraft carriers INS Vikrant and INS Vikramaditya, which will further strengthen the Navy's capability to meet upcoming challenges in the Indian Ocean.
An extremely capable multirole combat fighter plane, Rafale-M is equipped with long-range cruise missiles, AM39 Exocet sea missiles, and advanced Meteor beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile. It has already shown its capability when flown by the French Navy during flight missions from, among other carrier ships, French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle.
The Rafale-M also features optimisation for the severe conditions of sea service with strengthened landing gears through the use of the Safran Group, folding wings, and robust undercarriage designed to withstand the severe conditions of deck landings as well as the corrosive marine environment.
This agreement will also comprise spares and logistics support to 36 Rafale fighter jets already induced into the Indian Air Force (IAF) under an agreement worth Rs 59,000 crore signed with France in 2016. These fighter jets are of two IAF squadrons.
The two squadrons are based at Ambala Air Force Station and the second at Hasimara Air Force Station in West Bengal along the China border. The two Rafale squadrons are designed to enhance India's air supremacy, particularly towards China in the eastern direction and on the western border against Pakistan.
Rafale-M, the multi-role combat aircraft that has been specifically designed by French, is specifically capable of living through hostile oceans and is also customized for deck-launching itself, giving the plane a measure of carrier-born flexibility never heard of before.
Rafale-M, the shipboard version, would be inter-operable with the IAF fleet that would lend operational superiority in training, maintenance, and log support, officials said.
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