The Indian Navy will get Rafale fighter planes from France after the Indian Air Force (IAF). The Indian Air Force (IAF) chose the Rafale for its new squadron. Now, the Indian Navy is going to buy the Rafale M.
The French media say that this deal can be signed between the two countries when French President Emmanuel Macron goes to India in March.
The fact that the Indian Navy chose Rafale instead of the American F/A-18 Super Hornet jet is interesting. People are calling the deal for the Rafale M a turning point in the relationship between India and France.
If you believe defence sources, the Indian Navy is about to sign a deal with France for 26 Rafale M planes that is worth a lot of money.
INS Vikrant will have Rafale M planes.
Dassault Aviation, which makes Rafale, is sure that Rafale M will work for the warship INS Vikrant of the Indian Navy. The Greek, Indonesian, and UAE armies are still using Rafale M.
The fact that the Indian Navy has turned down the American fighter jet F/A-18 Super Hornet is interesting. The Navy tried out both of these fighter planes earlier this year. In December, a detailed report of this trial was given to the Indian Defense Ministry. At INS Hansa, a naval base in Goa, both fighter jets were put through their paces.
Why the Indian Navy picked the Rafale M
The Indian Navy thinks that Rafale will better meet its needs. The Indian Navy wants to get rid of 43 Russian MiG-29K and MiG-29KUB fighter jets that are old and no longer useful. The Navy had a few ideas for plane names, but in the end, the Rafale M and the F-18 won. The French Navy has 240 Rafale M jets right now. Dassault made these jets for the first time in 1986.
Both jets have already been put to use on modern aircraft carriers. In this case, both jets can be used on aircraft carriers with CATOBARs system.
The Indian Navy has two aircraft carriers right now: a new one called INS Vikrant and an older one called INS Vikramaditya.
The Soviet Union made the INS Vikramaditya, which is an aircraft carrier of the Kyiv class. It was updated in India. The aircraft carriers on both of these warships are STOBARs.
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