MoD clears proposal to purchase 26 Rafale Marine jets, 3 Scorpene subs

Ajay Banerjee

New Delhi, July 13

Attempting to plug gaps in naval power, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), the apex decision-making body of the Ministry of Defence (MoD), today cleared two separate ‘Make-in-India’ proposals for manufacturing three additional Scorpene submarines and sourcing 26 marine version Rafale fighter jets.

The key proposals are expected to come up when Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris. The DAC, chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, granted the ‘acceptance of necessity’ (AoN) for procurement of the Rafale Marine aircraft along with associated ancillary equipment, weapons, simulator, spares, documentation, crew training and logistic support for the Indian Navy from the French Government based on the Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA), the MoD said.

The price and other terms of the purchase will be negotiated with the French Government after taking into account all relevant aspects, including comparative procurement price of similar aircraft by other countries. Further, integration of India-designed equipment and establishment of ‘Maintenance, Repair & Operations (MRO)’ hub for various systems will be incorporated into the contract documents after due negotiations, the MoD said. The DAC also granted the AoN for procurement of three additional Scorpene submarines, which will be constructed by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL). The submarines would be made in India under a ‘repeat clause’ of the existing project to make six of these under a joint venture between the MDL and the Naval Group France. These submarines, called “Kalvari class”, have been manufactured and the last one is in the process of sea trials.

“The procurement of additional submarines with higher indigenous content will not only help in maintaining required force level and operational readiness of the Indian Navy, but also create significant employment opportunities in the domestic sector. It will also help the MDL in further enhancing its capability and expertise in submarine construction,” the MoD said.

In addition, the DAC approved the proposal to lay down guidelines for achieving the desired indigenous content in all categories of capital acquisition cases.