New Delhi, February 04 (HS): India and France are close to completing a 7 billion euro deal for 26 Rafale maritime fighter jets. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit France on February 10-11 to co-chair the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Summit. He will also hold bilateral talks with French President Emmanuel Macron. During this time, both sides can announce the deal. The deal is likely to be signed during French Defense Minister Sebastian Lecornu's visit to India in April this year.
The Indian Navy has chosen the French Rafale Marine instead of the Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet for the indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant. The long-running talks between India and France in this regard have been completed. Earlier it was planned to sign the deal in this financial year itself, but it has been delayed due to the budget session of Parliament. Now, amid the budget session, Prime Minister Modi will visit France on February 10-11 to co-chair the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Summit. During this, the deal is likely to be announced in talks with President Emmanuel Macron. The deal will be signed during the visit of French Defense Minister Sebastian Lecornu to India in April. Under the contract, France will be obliged to deliver the first Rafale marine aircraft within 37 months from the date of signing the deal.The Indian Navy already has the indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant and the Russian aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya. India's Defense Procurement Board (DPB) discussed the Navy's proposal for the third aircraft carrier in September last year. The cost of the third ship, displacing 45 thousand tonnes, a follow-up to INS Vikrant, was estimated at Rs 40 thousand crore. After the approval of the DPB, the proposal was to be placed in the Defense Acquisition Council for final approval, but now the government has advised the Navy to plan aircraft acquisition on the basis of two ships instead of approving the third aircraft carrier.
Sources in the defense and security establishment said that the Indian Navy had initially proposed to the government the need for 145 aircraft on the basis of three aircraft carriers, but now India is developing 87 twin engine deck based fighter aircraft for two aircraft carriers.
Apart from this, India is also working on Twin Engine Deck Based Fighter (TEDBF), which has been approved by all the concerned ministries and now the National Security Council Secretariat is studying it. Defense policy planners at the government level are of the opinion that the Indian Navy should project the requirements on the basis of two aircraft carriers for now.
Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
