India will buy 26 Rafale M fighter jets - i.e., the marine variants - for the Navy in a record government-to-government deal worth over Rs 63,000 crore, sources told NDTV Tuesday.
These will be the first major fighter jet upgrade for the country's naval forces. The purchase had been first considered in July 2023, when the Defence Ministry contacted its French counterpart.
The deal will also include a comprehensive package for fleet maintenance, logistical support, personnel training, and indigenous manufacturing of components under offset obligations.
The agreements will likely be signed later this month, when French Defence Minister Sébastien Lecornu visits India. Deliveries are expected five years after the deal is confirmed, sources said.
The fleet is, therefore, not likely to be fully inducted before 2031.
The Rafale M is widely considered one of the world's most advanced naval fighter jets.
It is equipped with Safran Groups' reinforced landing gears - regarded as one of the best for carrier-compatible aircraft - and also features folding wings, and a reinforced undercarriage to withstand harsh conditions, deck landing, and tailhooks.
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The jets - 22 single-seater and four twin-seater variants - will be deployed primarily on board indigenously-built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, as India looks to strengthen maritime strike capabilities, given the need to keep a watch on Chinese activities in the Indian Ocean region.
"We are tweaking our strategy to "negate" any infringement in its area of operations and is "ready to tackle threats from all neighbours", Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh Tripathi said in December.
The Navy's new Rafales will also help enhance the Air Force's capabilities, including upgrading the 'buddy-buddy' aerial refuelling system, i.e., which allows one jet, equipped with a refuelling pod, to act as a fuel tanker for another, which allows the fighters to stay airborne longer.
The Navy's new Rafales will complement the existing fleet of MiG-29Ks, which will likely continue to operate from INS Vikramaditya, India's second (and older) aircraft carrier.
The Navy is also planning to induct indigenous, fifth-gen fighter jets that are being developed by the Defence Research and Development Institute, or DRDO.
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These - styled as twin-engine, deck-based fighters - will be the naval counterpart of the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft, or AMCA, being developed for the Air Force.
The Air Force operates 36 Rafale jets - the 'C' variant - out of two bases in the north.
With input from agencies
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