The agreement between India and France will be signed in February, during French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to India.
New Delhi: India has decided to purchase Rafale fighter jets from France to address the shortage of fighter aircraft in the Indian Air Force (IAF). The French defense website Avions Legendaires has made several claims regarding this deal. It states that India is going to buy the most advanced version of the French Rafale fighter jet. It says that the agreement between India and France will be signed in February, during French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to India. The deal will involve the purchase of 114 Rafale fighter jets, which will be manufactured locally in India under the Make in India initiative.
Delivery of 90 new Rafale F4 fighter jets to India
The report further states that the agreement between India and France will include the delivery of 90 new Rafale F4 fighter jets to India in the short and medium term. In addition, the 36 Rafale fighter jets currently in the Indian Air Force’s inventory will be upgraded to the F4 variant. This upgrade will be similar to the upgrade being carried out for the existing variants of the French Air Force and French Navy to the F4 variant. The report says this will be the first phase of the contract. The second phase will be a medium and long-term contract, which will include a batch of 24 Rafale F5s, all of which will be manufactured in France by Dassault Aviation.
Rafale F5 issue yet to be resolved
According to French media reports, there are still unresolved issues between India and France regarding the F5 Rafale. Obstacles remain regarding whether India can independently upgrade its newly delivered Rafale F4s to the F5 standard. It is also unclear whether the older Rafale F3s, which will be upgraded to the F4 standard, can also be upgraded to the F5 standard. The matter is not yet entirely clear.
Emmanuel Macron’s India visit
French President Emmanuel Macron will visit India in February, where he will participate in the AI Impact Summit. This summit will run from February 16 to 20, and it is during this period that an agreement between India and France regarding the Rafale fighter jets is expected to be signed.
According to a report by news agency ANI, India and France are set to finalize a deal worth Rs 3.25 lakh crore for 114 Rafale jets. This translates to a deal worth over $36 billion. However, French media has stated that the exact value of the deal has not yet been officially disclosed, but they claim that it will be so massive that it will increase France’s GDP by a certain percentage.
French media also reported that the Indian Air Force has used the Rafale fighter jets effectively against Pakistan, and the confidence of Air Force officials in the Rafale has increased significantly.
