A team headed by French defence ministry officials met their Indian counterparts and discussed the proposal to buy 26 Rafale-M (Marine) aircraft for the Indian Navy,
Notably, the French team was headed by an official who is in charge of Asia in their Directorate General of Armament while the Indian team included personnel from the Navy.
The deal is expected to cost around USD 5.5 billion.
This is the first time that both the sides met since the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) of India accorded approval for the procurement of 26 Rafale-M fighter jets along with associated ancillary equipment, weapons, simulator, spares, documentation, crew training and logistic support for the Indian Navy.
Noteworthy, multiple points were taken up in the meeting which will be taken up by the Defence Cyber Agency (DCYA) soon.
Also, the India needs to send a letter of request or a request for proposal to the French government for the deal for which the cut-off date would be eight weeks after the approval by the DAC.
Further, it is likely that India would be requesting the integration of its indigenous missiles including the Astra air-to-air missile as part of the package from France.
