India will buy 26 Rafale M fighter jets – i.e., the marine variants – for the Navy in a record government-to-government deal worth over Rs 63,000 crore, sources told NDTV Tuesday.
These will be the first major fighter jet upgrade for the country’s naval forces.
The deal will also include a comprehensive package for fleet maintenance, logistical support, personnel training, and indigenous manufacturing of components under offset obligations.
It will likely be signed later this month, when French Defence Minister Sébastien Lecornu visits India. Deliveries are expected five years after the papers are signed, sources said.
The jets – 22 single-seater and four twin-seater variants – will be deployed primarily on board indigenously-built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, as India looks to strengthen maritime strike capabilities, given the need to keep a watch on Chinese activities in the Indian Ocean region.
“We are tweaking our strategy to “negate” any infringement in its area of operations and is “ready to tackle threats from all neighbours”, Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh Tripathi said in December.
The Navy’s new Rafales will complement the existing fleet of MiG-29Ks.
The Air Force already operates 36 Rafale jets out of two bases in northern India.
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