114 additional aircraft for the Indian Air Force in the Defense Acquisition Council (DAC) meeting chaired by Defense Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi. Rafale The purchase of fighter planes (Rafale deal India) was approved. This purchase will be made under an inter-governmental agreement between the governments of India and France. DAC has also given green signal to defense procurement proposals worth about Rs 3.60 lakh crore for the three services.
According to the Defense Ministry, under this deal, 96 Rafale fighter aircraft will be made in India under the technology transfer arrangement, while 18 aircraft will be received directly from France in flight-ready condition (Rafale deal India). This will not only increase the combat capability of the Air Force, but will also give a big boost to ‘Make in India’. According to sources, about 50 percent of the components in the aircraft manufactured in India will be indigenous.
This decision has been taken at a time when French President Emmanuel Macron is going to visit India next week. It is believed that by approving this proposal before his visit, India has given a stronger signal to the strategic partnership (Rafale deal India). However, the final agreement will be approved by the Cabinet Committee on Security headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after which the formal process will proceed.
The Defense Ministry says that the deployment of Rafale will significantly increase the Air Force’s air dominance capability, long-range precision strikes and deterrence power. Rafale is capable of both air-to-air and air-to-ground operations and also has the capability to carry nuclear weapons. Equipped with Meteor and Scalp cruise missiles, this aircraft is considered capable of striking the enemy from a distance. Rafale’s role in the recent Operation Sindoor was also said to be important.
Apart from the Air Force, many important proposals related to Navy and Army (Rafale deal India) were also approved in the DAC meeting. The requirement for the Navy to purchase six additional P-8I maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine aircraft from the US has been approved. These aircraft will be purchased in completely ready condition and will significantly increase the maritime surveillance and anti-submarine warfare capabilities of the Navy.
Apart from this, procurement proposals related to Marine Gas Turbine based Electric Power Generator for the Navy, modern surveillance system in Dornier aircraft for the Coast Guard, Anti-Tank Mines, Armored Recovery Vehicles, T-72 Tank and BMP-II vehicles for the Army have also been approved (Rafale deal India). Also, combat missiles that enhance stand-off ground attack capability and High-Altitude Pseudo Satellite System (S-HAPS) are also part of this package.
It is noteworthy that the squadron strength of the Indian Air Force has currently reduced to around 30 as compared to the sanctioned 42. Two squadrons of 36 Rafales purchased in 2016 (Rafale deal India) are already in service. Now the approval of 114 new aircraft is being considered as a decisive step towards the operational needs of the Air Force, the impact of which will be visible on India’s security strategy for years to come.
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