New Delhi: In a major boost to the Navy, the defence ministry Thursday approved India’s plans to procure 26 Rafale Marine fighter aircraft and three additional Scorpene submarines from France in an estimated 10 billion euro (Rs 91,000 crore) deal.
Sources in the defence and security establishment said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh-led Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) cleared the proposals shortly after Prime Minister Narendra Modi left for his official visit to France Thursday. Both deals, they added, will be announced during the visit and an actual contract will be inked later, as reported by ThePrint earlier.
According to the plan, the Navy will procure 22 single-seat Rafale M and four trainer aircraft to arm its indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant.
This deal, valued at an estimated 5 billion euros (Rs 45,000 crore), will include weapons packages, besides the cost of training and infrastructure. The deal comes at a crucial time when the Navy does not have enough fighters to operate from two aircraft carriers.
While it does operate MiG-29K from INS Vikramaditya, use of the aircraft poses several maintenance issues.
The Navy had chosen the Rafale M over the American fighter – the F/A-18 Super Hornet, as reported first by ThePrint last December.
The new contract for procurement of 26 aircraft is meant to be an interim arrangement, given that India is building its indigenous Twin Engine Deck-Based Fighter (TEDBF) — a prototype is likely by 2026-27, followed by beginning of production around 2032.
The second important pact to be finalised involves the procurement of three additional Scorpene diesel electric submarines under Project 75, that will cost India an estimated 4 billion euros (Rs 36,000 crore). Under the project, six Scorpene submarines have been built in India through a joint partnership between French firm Naval Group and state-run Indian shipyard Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL).
The additional orders are being placed in light of the Indian Navy facing a submarine crisis and falling short of its ambitious 30-year plan to develop an effective deterrent against China and Pakistan by 2030. Under this plan, India was to build 24 submarines — 18 conventional submarines and six nuclear-powered submarines (SSNs).
Of the 18 conventional submarines, the Navy has managed to build only six so far – Scorpenes.
Project 75 or P-75(I), another programme the Navy has been pursuing for over a decade, is yet to take off. Under this project, new underwater vessels with the Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) System are to be developed to allow conventional submarines to stay underwater for longer. But the French are out of the race for the new project since they don’t meet key tender requirements of the Indian Navy.
The French, through their Indian partner MDL, had proposed to the government to build three more Scorpene submarines with the Indian shipyard, making a case for expertise gained in building the vessels to not go to waste.
The Navy finally decided to go in for more Scorpenes because even if a decision is made today on who the partners will be, the Navy will have to wait at least seven years before it gets its hands on the first submarine under P-75(I).
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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