New Delhi, Feb 12 (IANS) The Defence Ministry on Thursday approved the Rs 3.25 lakh crore proposal to buy 114 Rafale fighter jets from France for the Indian Air Force, according to reliable sources. The clearance was granted by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, which accorded Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) to the programme. The clearance has come through ahead of French President Emmanuel Macron's forthcoming official visit to Delhi.

After the Defence Ministry’s approval, the deal will eventually need clearance from the Cabinet Committee on Security, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. According to the proposal, India will purchase 18 off-the-shelf Rafale fighter jets from French defence giant Dassault Aviation, while the remaining 96 fighter jets will be made in India. Some of these jets will be twin-seater aircraft to be used for training. The deal will involve the transfer of state-of-the-art fighter jet technology and a strategic partnership to give a fillip to the 'Make in India' programme.

The Indian Air Force already has 36 Rafales in its fleet, comprising two squadrons, with the last delivery of the 'C' variant taking place in December 2024. Another 26 Rafale jets of the 'M' version have also been ordered for the Indian Navy in a deal worth Rs 63,000 crore. The naval variants will be operated from the aircraft carriers INS Vikrant and INS Vikramaditya.That deal includes facilitation of fleet maintenance, logistics support, and personnel training under an MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) agreement.

The Rafale jets were successfully used in Operation Sindoor to hit precision targets in Pakistan, as part of India's military response to the Pahalgam terror attack in May last year. They were used to launch the SCALP, an air-launched cruise missile developed that can strike hardened targets over 250km away with extreme precision. The fighter jets can also carry Meteor long-range air-to-air missiles, the Hammer, a stand-off strike weapon, and the Spectra, an advanced e-warfare suite, as well as advanced radar and targeting systems.

In June last year, France and India also announced four landmark production transfer deals between manufacturers Dassault Aviation and Tata Advanced Systems Limited, which should significantly speed up the delivery of a backlog of Rafales to India. Tata Advanced Systems is expected to set up a cutting-edge production facility in Hyderabad for the manufacture of key structural sections of the French fighter, including the lateral shells of the rear fuselage, the complete rear section, the central fuselage, and the front section. The first fuselage segments will roll off the manufacturing line in 2028.

--IANS