New Delhi: The Indian Air Force (IAF), backed by a strong push from the centre, is looking at finalising the contract for 114 Rafale fighter jets with at least 18 being delivered off-the-shelf in a shorter timeline with Made in India parts as early as next fiscal year, ThePrint has learnt.
Sources in the defence and security establishment told ThePrint that French aerospace company Dassault Aviation would set up a final assembly line in India for the fighter jets, with a target of at least 60 per cent indigenisation.
On 9 April this year, ThePrint was the first to report that the Narendra Modi-led government had decided to scrap the Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA) programme and would instead opt for a direct government-to-government deal for Rafale with France.
Asian News International (ANI) reported over the weekend that the proposal for the 114 Rafale jets prepared by the IAF had recently been submitted to the Defence Ministry and is under consideration by the different wings under it, including Defence Finance. It went on to say that after deliberations, the proposal would then be moved to the Defence Procurement Board, followed by the Defence Acquisition Council, which will give it the Acceptance of Necessity, following which formal negotiations will start.
What version will the new Rafale be?
According to sources, the new Rafale jets will be the Standard F4 plus version and will come equipped with longer-range air-to-air missiles (two) and air-to-ground munitions.
Qualified by the Direction générale de l’armement (DGA), the French defence procurement agency, in March 2023, the F4.1 standard is now in service with the French Air Force and Navy.
The F4 standard focuses on improving the connectivity of the Rafale through new satellite and intra-flight links, communications servers, and software radios, improving its effectiveness in net-centric combat and paving the way for the Future Combat Air System (FCAS), reported Aviation International News (AIN).
As per the AIN report, externally, there is nothing to differentiate a Rafale F4 from a Rafale F3-R, though it marks a major technological leap, with improvements to the navigation and weapons system, the Spectra electronic warfare suite, the Talios target designation pod, and the RBE2 AESA radar. It also comes with the MICA NG air-to-air missile.
The Rafale in service with India is the F3-R plus version, all of which will be upgraded to the latest standard, sources told ThePrint. The IAF’s Rafale has 13 India-specific enhancements, a notch above the F3 variants.
The sources told ThePrint that when the Mirage came in, it came in five different versions, all of which were subsequently upgraded. “The versions are more to do with the software and associated upgrades,” sources said.
Asked if the IAF will opt for the F5 version (which is under works), sources said that it is some years away and upcoming talks will include all future upgrades that need to be done.
Dassault Aviation’s planned standard F5 Rafale will have more powerful engines, improved survivability and data links and will be accompanied by an unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) weighing more than 10 tonnes.
Also Read: France’s Dassault Aviation ties up with Tata for Rafale fuselage manufacturing in India
The road ahead
Explaining the way ahead for the new Rafale, sources said, “The aim is that due processes are completed in a fast track manner,” hinting at a signing in the following fiscal year.
They added the deal, valued at Rs 2 lakh crore, will include approximately 18 Rafale fighter jets bought in a fly-away condition.
“The aim is that these aircraft should come in a faster timeline than what is usually the case,” said another source.
Asked if Dassault Aviation will have an Indian partner for manufacturing of the aircraft, sources said that the French firm is already working with several Indian companies, such as the Tata Group for the fuselage and Mahindra for other systems.
“Dassault has informed that they will be willing to set up a full-fledged final assembly line here and would be able to come up with 60 percent indigenisation, including making of the fuselage, wings and other parts,” a source said, adding that the template for the programme can be the C-295 production in India.
They said that Dassault Aviation is already setting up a Maintenance Repair and Overhaul Facility (MRO) in India, as reported by ThePrint earlier, and have committed to making India as a Rafale manufacturing and maintenance hub besides the facilities in France.
India will emerge as the largest operators of the Rafale aircraft outside of France.
India has bought 36 Rafale in 2016 and has now ordered 26 Rafale Marine aircraft for the Indian Navy.
(Edited by Insha Jalil Waziri)
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Indian politicians will go into clinical depression after losing vote-catching socialist money to buy fighter jets.