The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) approved plans Thursday to buy the Indian Navy 26 Rafale Marine aircraft and three more Scorpene submarines. This was a very important move.
The Defense Minister Rajnath Singh led the meeting, which happened at the same time that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was leaving for Paris to celebrate Bastille Day and talk with President Emmanuel Macron.
The Rafale M plane will come with guns, a simulator, spare parts, paperwork, training for the crew, and logistical support. Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) is how they get things from the French government.
It is likely that four of the 26 planes will be the trainer form.
Since the MiG-29 Ks will be phased out in the next few years, the Navy’s aircraft carriers, INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant, are getting these planes as a stopgap measure until they get the indigenous Twin Engine Deck-Based Fighter (TEDBF), which is being made by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) under the DRDO.
The F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet from Boeing and the Rafale-M from Dassault Aviation were both in the running for the Navy’s fighter plane deal. Both fighters met the Navy’s needs, but the Rafale M could use the same parts and get the same help as the Rafale used by the Indian Air Force.
In a release, the Ministry of Defense said that the DAC has given the Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for the purchase of the 26 fighters and the three submarines.
The first step in the long process of buying Defense is getting the AoN.
“The price and other terms of purchase will be negotiated with the French Government after taking into account all relevant factors, such as how much other countries paid for similar aircraft,” the Ministry said in its statement on the AoN granted for the purchase of the aircraft.
Sources said that the total price of the deal could be more than Rs. 50,000 crore.
It also said that after proper negotiations, the contract papers will include the integration of Indian-made equipment and the creation of a Maintenance, Repair, and Operations (MRO) Hub for different systems.
The Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) will build the three extra Scorpene submarines. They will be bought under the Buy (Indian) category.
Under Project-75, the MDL is building six submarines of the Scorpene class. This is part of a deal with Naval Group to transfer technology worth $3.75 billion, which was signed in October 2005. Five of them have already been ordered, and the sixth one probably won’t be ordered until the beginning of next year.
The Ministry said that buying more submarines with more local parts will not only help keep the Navy’s needed force level and operational readiness at a high level, but it will also create a lot of jobs in the domestic sector. “It will also help the MDL improve its skills and abilities in building submarines,” the report said.
The DAC also agreed to the plan to make rules about how to get the desired amount of local content in all types of capital acquisition situations.
The Ministry said, “It will help achieve ‘Atmanirbharta’ in critical manufacturing technologies and in the life-cycle maintenance of defense platforms and equipment made in India.”
Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said on Wednesday that talks between Prime Minister Modi and President Macron would be based on co-production and co-development of military weapons, with an emphasis on India’s goals for self-reliance.
