New Delhi: India and France are all set to sign a Rs 63,000 crore deal for Rafale Marine combat aircraft. The deal for 26 fighter jets is to be signed on Monday in New Delhi, said defence sources.
According to a report in ANI, the deal is to be signed in presence of the officials from the Indian Defence Ministry and the French Ambassador to India. Both will represent their respective countries at the signing ceremony. Defence Secretary, Rajesh Kumar Singh is set to represent India.
Defence Ministers to participate virtually
The report, quoting sources, claimed that the Defence Ministers of both countries will participate virtually in the programme. Both governments are also expected to sign several ancillary government-to-business (G2B) agreements physically at the event. These will help in strengthening the defence ties between the 2 long-time allies.
India needs the 26 Rafale Marine fighter jets to deploy them on Indian aircraft carriers, particularly INS Vikrant, which is now in service. Reports said that the existing fleet of MiG-29 fighter jets have underperformed due to issues with maintenance.
The new Rafale fighter jets, will be customised according to Indian needs, so that they can be easily integrated with INS Vikrant. The deal to buy 26 Rafale Marine combat aircraft from France was cleared on April 9 during a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security. The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This is India’s largest-ever defence deal.
Of the 26 jets, 22 are single-seater Rafales and 4 are twin-seater aircraft. Apart from this the deal also includes a comprehensive package for fleet maintenance, logistical support, personnel training, and indigenous component manufacturing, which France will provide to India. Currently India already has 36 Rafale aircraft which are used by the Indian Air Force. These were acquired in 2016.
