India has signed a contract to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets from French defence major Dassault Aviation for around Rs.58,000 crore in an effort to modernise Indian Air Force’s ageing fleet. The deal was finalised with the signing of the Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) by the Minister for Defence, Manohar Parrikar, and his French counterpart, Jean-Yves le Drian, at the Ministry of Defence.
• This brings to end the negotiations that commence between both the governments in 2007. Dassault was finally chosen in 2012 following a competitive bidding process.The aircraft will be bought by India in flyaway condition. The first delivery is expected to take place by October 2019. Thereafter, the remaining 35 jets will be delivered over a period of two-and-a-half years, sources told BusinessLine.
• The Rafale is a twin-jet fighter aircraft able to operate from both an aircraft carrier and a shore base. The planes will be able to carry out all combat aviation missions: air defence, interception, ground support, in-depth strikes, reconnaissance, anti-ship strikes and nuclear deterrence.
• India will be paying around Rs 1,611 crore for each of the jets. The government is believed to have paid the price for about six of the jets already costing around Rs.9,000 crore. The Rafale has been used by the French armed forces in combat operations for more than a decade now and has proven its operational excellence in various theatres around the world, said a statement by Dassault Aviation.
• “I am certain that the Rafale and its performance will hold high the colours of the Indian Air Force. It will demonstrate unstinting efficiency in protecting the people of India and the sovereignty of the world’s largest democracy,” declared Eric Trappier, Dassault Aviation Chairman and CEO.
• The original deal between India and France was to procure 126 of these planes under the MMRCA programme by the UPA, which was later scrapped by the NDA. In 2015, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited France, he had announced India will be buying 36 Rafale warplanes off the shelf following his talks with French President, François Hollande.
