Connection deepens: Govt clears 26 Rafale jets, 3 Scorpene subs

The Rafale M aircraft will come 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 the 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 these aircraft is an interim arrangement for the Navy’s aircraft carriers, INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant, until it acquires the indigenous Twin Engine Deck-Based Fighter (TEDBF) which is currently under development by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) under the DRDO.

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 met the Navy’s requirements, the Rafale M had common spares and support as the Rafale operated by the Indian Air Force.

In a statement, the Ministry of Defence said the DAC has granted the Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for the procurement of the 26 fighters and the three submarines.

The grant of AoN is the first step in the long Defence procurement process.

“The price and other terms of purchase will be negotiated with the French Government after taking into account all relevant aspects, including comparative procurement price of similar aircraft by other countries,” the Ministry said in its statement on the AoN granted for the procurement of the aircraft.

Sources said the total cost of the aircraft deal could be over Rs 50,000 crore.

Additionally, integration of Indian designed equipment and establishment of Maintenance, Repair and Operations (MRO) Hub for various systems will be incorporated into the contract documents after due negotiations, it stated.

The three additional Scorpene submarines will be procured under Buy (Indian) category and will be built by the Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL).

The 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. Five of these have already been commissioned and the sixth will likely be commissioned early next year.

The Ministry said the procurement of additional submarines, with higher indigenous content, will not only help in maintaining required force level and operational readiness of the Navy, but also create significant employment opportunities in the domestic sector. “It will also help the MDL in further enhancing its capability and expertise in submarine construction,” it said.

The DAC also approved the proposal to lay down guidelines for achieving the desired indigenous content in all categories of capital acquisition cases.

“It will help in achieving ‘Atmanirbharta’ in critical manufacturing technologies and life-cycle sustenance of defence platforms/equipment through indigenous manufacturing,” the Ministry said.

On Wednesday, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra had said discussions between Prime Minister Modi and President Macron would hinge on co-production, co-development of military hardware with a focus on India’s self-reliance goals.