New Delhi: India and France will on Monday sign the deal for 26 Rafale fighter jets for the Indian Navy, the Ministry of Defence said.
An official said that the estimated cost of this deal is valued at around Rs 63,000 crore, which is much-needed to enhance the fighting capabilities of the Indian Navy.
Of the 26 Rafale fighter jets, 22 will be single-seaters while four twin-seater variant training aircraft will also be delivered.
Earlier, the French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu was scheduled to visit India on Sunday to sign the deal, but his visit was cancelled due to personal reasons. However, he will participate in talks with his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh through video conferencing.
The defence official said that ‘Government-to-business’ agreements will also be signed between India and France on Monday.
He said that Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh and the French Ambassador to India, Thierry Mathou, will also be present at the signing ceremony to be held in New Delhi.
The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the purchase of 26 Rafale-M fighter jets from France for the Navy.
“After the Rafale deal is signed, the delivery of Rafale-M fighter jets to the Indian Navy will start in 2028-29. All the Rafale aircraft will be supplied to the Navy by the year 2031-32,” the official said.
He added that these fighter jets will be operated from Indian aircraft carriers, INS Vikramaditya and indigenous INS Vikrant.
The official said that the deal will also include a comprehensive package for fleet maintenance, logistics support, training of personnel, and domestic manufacturing of components under offset obligations.
The Indian Air Force also has a fleet of Rafale aircraft.
On Sunday, the Navy also successfully carried out an anti-ship missile firing drill.
Following the Pahalgam attack, the Navy also conducted a missile test — medium-range surface-to-air — from its indigenously built guided missile destroyer, INS Surat, in the Arabian Sea.
(IANS)
