With the go-ahead for its big plan to buy 26 Rafale Marine fighters, the Indian Navy is putting together a team with the defense ministry to discuss the terms of the deal, which is expected to cost more than 5 billion Euros (Rs 45,000 crore).
Sources in the defense and security sector said that a senior naval officer will lead the negotiating team, while the French side will be led by their defense minister.
They also said that the two sides will talk about the price and other terms of the purchase after taking everything into account.
The French Navy only uses the Rafale Marine, by the way.
There are also needs that are unique to India that will be talked about and set in stone.
Also, after proper negotiations, the contract papers will include the integration of Indian-made equipment and the setting up of a Maintenance, Repair, and Operations (MRO) hub for different systems.
Because the whole process will take that long, an official agreement won’t be signed until the new government is sworn in next year.
Before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s trip to France last week, the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh-led Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) approved the Naval project, which includes buying 22 Rafale Marine and 4 trainer aircraft for the Indian aircraft carrier INS Vikrant.
India and France did not talk about the planned Rafale Marine deal in their joint statement after Modi met with French President Emmanuel Macron. In his talk with the reporters, Modi did make a brief mention of working with naval fighters.
France has become one of India’s most important defense partners. They work together on everything from subs to space. A report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) in Sweden says that between 2018 and 2022, France will be the second largest supplier of arms to India, overtaking the US. This is an increase of 489% compared to the time from 2013 to 2017.
