India wants to purchase an additional 114 French Rafale fighter jets
India has officially approached France with a request to purchase 114 additional Rafale fighter jets. The potential deal could become one of the largest contracts for the modernization of the Indian Air Force in recent years.
The process of acquiring new aircraft began back in 2018, following the purchase of the first batch of 36 fighter jets and the cancellation of the previous tender program.
At that time, the Indian Ministry of Defense announced a search for suppliers with a mandatory requirement for technology transfer to support national programs.
In addition to the French company Dassault Aviation, the competition included the American companies Lockheed Martin with the F-21 and Boeing with the F-15EX, the Swedish company Saab with the Gripen, the Eurofighter consortium, and the Russian company UAC with the Su-35 and MiG-35 fighters.
An additional factor in this decision was the final decommissioning and retirement of the obsolete Soviet MiG-21 fighters.
The total value of the future contract with the consortium, which includes Dassault Aviation, Thales, and Safran, is estimated at €33 billion.
The Indian side has set requirements for local production, according to which 94 of the planned 114 fighters must be assembled directly in India.
At the same time, locally produced parts must account for at least 50% of the aircraft’s components.
In addition to local assembly, India insists on gaining access to the fighter jets’ electronics.
This is necessary so that local specialists can independently integrate their own weapons onto the French aircraft, specifically Brahmos NG cruise missiles and Astra air-to-air missiles.
If negotiations are successfully concluded, the Indian Armed Forces will have at least 176 Rafale aircraft in service, of which 150 will go to the Air Force and 26 to the Navy.
This number may increase in the future, as Indian naval officials have previously stated their intention to purchase an additional 31 French fighter jets.
This was reported by opex360.
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