India will get its first Rafale-Marine jet by mid-2028 and all 26 by 2030 under the £6.38bne (almost Euro 7 billion) deal inked with France on Monday. The omni-role fighters will primarily operate from indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant’s deck.
The delivery of nine Rafale-M jets with their decidedly deadly weapons package in 2028, 12 in 2029 and five in 2030 will bolster Indian aircraft carrier operations in the Indian Ocean and beyond at a time when China’s ever-expanding naval forays and hunt for logistical bases in the region have become a clear and present threat.
“The Rafale-M is a carrier-borne combat-ready aircraft with proven operational capabilities. It will be a potent force multiplier, substantially boosting India’s air power at sea,” an official said. These omni-role 4.5-generation maritime strike and reconnaissance jets will add to the 36 Rafales, which are also capable of delivering nuclear weapons, already inducted by the IAF under the £5.9bn contract inked in Sept 2016. They are deployed at the Ambala and Hasimara airbases to cater for the Pakistan and China fronts.
The two major Rafale deals make the French fighter the frontrunner in the long-pending project to manufacture 114 multi-role fighter aircraft (MRFA) with foreign collaboration in India, which was initially estimated to cost £12.5bn and is now being fast-tracked.
Apart from the inter-governmental agreement (IGA) on the Rafale-M jets, inked remotely by defence minister Rajnath Singh and his French counterpart Sébastien Lecornu, the aircraft supply protocol with fighter manufacturer Dassault Aviation and weapons protocol with missile-maker MBDA were also signed.
The exchange of documents took place in the presence of defence secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh, Navy vice chief Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan and French ambassador Thierry Mathou, among others.
The direct acquisition of 22 single-seater Rafale-M jets and four twin-seater trainers includes training for Indian pilots and technicians, a simulator, associated equipment, weapons and five-year performance-based logistics. It also includes additional equipment for the existing 36 Rafales of the IAF.
The Rafale-M jets will be armed with long-range precision strike weapons like the IAF fighters. In addition to the 70km range Exocet AM39 anti-ship missiles, they will have the over 300km range ‘Scalp’ air-to-ground cruise missiles and the top-notch Meteor air-to-air missiles, which have a strike range of 120 to 150km to take on enemy jets.
While there is no overall transfer of technology in the deal, the IGA includes the integration of indigenous weapons like the Astra air-to-air missiles and the naval short and medium-range anti-ship missiles (NASMs) being developed by DRDO with the Rafale-of fighters in the future.
It also includes setting up of a production facility for aircraft fuselage as well as MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) facilities for engines, sensors and weapons in India.
