India To Ink Rs 3.25-Lakh-Crore Deal With France For 114 Rafale Fighter Jets

The Union government is set to ink a deal worth Rs 3.25 lakh crore for the purchase of 114 Rafale fighter jets from France, as per reports on Monday.

These jets will be mass produced in India with 30% of its content being indigenous. The matter will be taken up at a high-level meeting of the defence ministry this week.

This pact is also expected to involve the acquisition of 12-18 Rafale jets by the Indian Air Force in fly-away condition, according to ANI, which cited "top defence sources".

India also further sought the inclusion of Indian weapons along with other indigenous systems into the Rafale jets within the government-government deal, the sources said.

The proposal will be discussed at a high-level defence ministry meeting, set to be held in the next two to three days. The source codes will stay with France.

The Indian Air Force was also offered fifth-generation fighters, which include the F-35 and the Su-57 by the US and Russia, but opted to go with France's Rafale jets.

The indigenous content requirement was also notably reduced to 30% as compared to the general requirement of 50–60% indigenous content in Make In India deals.

Once approved, the pact would be among the country's biggest defence deals and increase the number of Rafale jets in India's military to 176, with the Indian Air Force in possession of 36 such jets, and the Indian Navy putting orders 26 jets the previous year.

"The Statement of Case or the proposal for the 114 Rafale jets prepared by the Indian Air Force was received by the Defence Ministry a few months ago. Once approved by the Defence Ministry, the proposal will require clearance from the Cabinet Committee on Security.

The Defence Ministry received France's proposal for the jets a few months earlier.

France is also considering setting up a maintenance, repair and overhaul facility for the M-88 engines utilised by Rafale jets in Hyderabad.

The French company Dassault has established a firm to look after the maintenance of the jets. Indian aerospace companies like Tata Advanced Systems Ltd. may also participate in the manufacturing process.