The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has accorded approval for the procurement of 26 Rafale-M (Marine) fighter aircrafts along with associated ancillary equipment, weapons, simulator, spares, documentation, crew training and logistic support for the Indian Navy from the French Government based on Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA).
Although, the price and other terms of purchase are yet to be negotiated with the French Government, which will be done after taking into account all relevant aspects, including comparative procurement price of similar aircraft by other countries.
Further, integration of Indian designed equipment and establishment of Maintenance, Repair & Operations (MRO) Hub for various systems will be incorporated into the contract documents after due negotiations.
Also, as reported earlier, the Indian Navy will be get 22 single seated Rafale-M Aircraft along with four trainer aircraft.
These will be used aboard India’s indigenously developed aircraft carrier INS Vikrant.
Besides, DAC also gave its approval for the acquisition of three additional Scorpene-class diesel-electric submarines for the Indian Navy from France under ‘Buy (Indian)’ category.
These will be constructed by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL).
Notably, the procurement of additional submarines, with higher indigenous content, will not only help in maintaining required force level and operational readiness of the Indian Navy, but also create significant employment opportunities in the domestic sector.
It will also help the MDL in further enhancing its capability and expertise in submarine construction.
In addition, the DAC approved the proposal to lay down guidelines for achieving the desired indigenous content in all categories of capital acquisition cases.
Source: https://pib.gov.in/
4 thoughts on “DAC approves procurement of 26 Rafale-M jets, 3 Scorpene subs from France”
Comments are closed.