DAC meet this week: 26 Rafale M jets, 3 Scorpene subs on agenda

The approval for procurement of the platforms by the DAC, headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, will be the first step in the defence acquisition process, followed by agreement on commercial terms, price negotiations and a final nod from the Cabinet Committee on Security before the deal is finalised.

As per officials, while the fighter jets were on the cards for some time, the plan to procure the Scorpene submarines came as a surprise, but was fuelled by the Navy’s dwindling submarine numbers.

“The decision was taken considering that Project 75(I) is yet to take off and upcoming refits of the Kalvari-class submarines, which would further bring down the submarine numbers,” an official told The Indian Express.

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It is yet not known whether this procurement would be a repeat order of the Project 75. “If that is the case, the procurement timeline for the underwater platforms will be cut short significantly,” the official said.

Under Project 75(I), the Navy is looking to procure six advanced diesel-electric submarines and the project will be processed under the ambitious Strategic Partnership (SP) model of acquisition of the Ministry of Defence.

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Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) is building six Scorpene-class submarines under Project 75 under transfer of technology from Naval Group, which was a $3.75 billion deal signed in October 2005. Of them, five have already been commissioned and the last one will likely be commissioned early next year.

Earlier, the Defence Procurement Board had cleared the proposal to procure the 26 jets for the Navy’s aircraft carriers. With the MiG-29 Ks slated to be phased out in the next few years, procuring the jets is a stop gap arrangement.

As for the co-development of jet engines for India’s Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft project, India has been talking to several global firms, including France’s Safran, Rolls Royce of the UK and General Electric of the US.

Explained: Why it could be Advantage Rafale

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 fighter jets had met the Navy’s requirements, the Rafale-M had common spares and support as the Rafale jets are operated by the Indian Air Force. The Navy had also recommended procurement of the Rafale-M jets after extensive demonstrations at its shore-based test facility in Goa.