India on Friday inked the much-awaited deal worth over 7.87 billion Euros (approximately `59,000 crore) with France for procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets. Going without any addition to its air power for nearly 20 years now, the biggest Defence deal since the Modi Government assumed office two years back will give the Indian Air Force (IAF) an operational edge over Pakistan and China.
Fitted with latest weaponry and related warfare systems, these fighter jets are capable of carrying nuclear weapons and will join service in 36 to 67 months. The last deal for fighter jets was inked in 1996 with Russia for SU-30s.
“Pleased to inform that India has signed an agreement for procurement of 36 Rafale aircraft with weapon systems, five years complete spares and maintenance, performance-based logistics and India-specific special provisions. This is an achievement which will give the IAF the required potency in terms of penetration and capability,” said Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar here.
The Rafale deal is a Government-to-Government agreement wherein the French Government stands guarantee for all contractual obligations, including delivery schedule of planes, spares, maintenance and other issues. The planes will be manufactured by French aerospace conglomerate Dassault. Parrikar and his French counterpart Jean-Yves le Drain signed the Inter-Governmental Agreement.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to France last year had announced the decision to procure 36 Rafale jets from France in ready-to-fly condition. The Government later scrapped the proposed medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) deal for 126 Rafale jets from Dassault. The protracted negotiations between the Defence Ministry and the French company were not making any headway over a host of issues, including price and technology transfer. The proposed MMRCA deal envisaged India buying 18 aircraft off the shelf and the Hindustan Aeronautics limited (HAl) manufacturing the remaining 108 planes in India under the transfer of technology pact.
Defence sources claimed hard bargaining by India saved nearly 328 million Euros over the one struck during the previous UPA Government.
As per the new contract signed on Friday, France will build India-specific Rafales equipped with Meteor Beyond Visual Range (BVR) air-to-air missiles, helmet mounted display and latest precision guided Scalp air-to-ground long-range missile.
Highlighting the capabilities of this aircraft, they said Rafale is a multi-role aircraft which can undertake all types of missions with a capability to simultaneously perform air defence and ground attack roles in a single mission thereby increasing the IAF’s strategic reach and provide technological edge. “In fact, the array of weapons on Rafale is unmatched in the region,”
said Defence sources in an apparent reference to Pakistan and China.
Insisting that India got a good bargain, they said the 7.8 billion Euros include a package of advanced weapons like BVRS, precision guided weapons, radars and better detection and survival features.
Moreover, France will train three IAF pilots, one engineer and six technicians by French Air Force. This clause was not there in the earlier contract negotiations, they said.
France also agreed to free of charge storage of weapons and additional warranty for six months and India was able to obtain French commitment for increase in the industrial support from earlier 40 years to 50 years.
The price tag also included a five-year maintenance support for 36 Rafales through performance-based logistics support (PBl) with an option to increase by another two years. Elaborating upon this crucial aspect, they said France will ensure that at all times more than 75 per cent of Rafale fleet is operational and gave 60 hours of additional warranty for Rafale used for training. India will buy 28 single-seater Rafales normally used in combat and twin seat Rafales for training. However, the twin-seater aircraft can also be used for combat role if need be.
The ‘vanila price’ (aircraft without weapons and other systems) will cost about 91 million Euros each for a single-seater and about 94 million Euros for a two-seater trainer aircraft.
Besides this, the contract also has a 50 per cent off set clause which means France will have to invest half of the contracted amount in the Indian industry. Sources said out of 50 per cent offset, France will have to procure 74 per cent material from India under the Make in India policy and the country will be able to export three billion Euros worth of equipment over a period of three to five years.