India is expected to seal in the next few weeks procurement of 26 naval variant of Rafale jets and three Scorpene submarines from France to further crank up its naval prowess, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday. It is expected that the procurement will be announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Paris next month to attend a summit on artificial intelligence. Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron are expected to hold bilateral talks on the sideline of the summit, being held on February 10 and 11.
The people cited above said all the two deals are in the final stage of finalisation and that the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) will have to look at them. In July 2023, the defence ministry approved the purchase of 22 Rafale (marine) jets from France, primarily for deployment on board the indigenously built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant. The Defence Ministry had also cleared procurement of three Scorpene submarines from France.
Under the Indian Navy's Project 75, six Scorpene submarines have already been constructed in India by Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) in cooperation with the Naval Group of France. The procurement of the Rafale (M) jets along with associated ancillary equipment including weapon systems and spares would be based on an inter-Governmental agreement (IGA).
The Indian Air Force bought 36 Rafale fighter aircraft in fly-away condition. There is a thinking in the IAF that it should go for at least two more squadrons of the Rafale jets. The defence and strategic ties between India and France have been on an upswing in the last few years. In July 2023, India and France announced a raft of ground-breaking defence cooperation projects including the joint development of jet and helicopter engines. The two strategic partners also had expressed commitment to cooperate in the co-development and co-production of advanced defence technologies, including for the benefit of third countries.
