The deal for 26 Rafale Marine aircraft is likely to cost about 7 billion Euros and this will include weapons, associated ancillary equipment, simulator, spares, documentation, crew training and performance-based logistics support besides certain changes.
Sources in the defence and security establishment also told ThePrint that the deal is likely to be signed ahead or on the sidelines of a possible visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Paris in February next.
They added more clarity was currently awaited as French Prime Minister Michel Barnier lost a no-confidence motion early Thursday.
Under French law, all government-to-government deals are signed by ministers in charge of respective portfolios.
“There could be a slight delay because of this no-confidence motion. But a deal would either be signed ahead or possible on the sidelines of the Prime Minister’s visit to France in February,” a source said, adding final dates were yet to be worked out.
The sources said, France would be obligated under contract to deliver the first Rafale Marine aircraft in 37 months from the date of signing the deal.
They explained the contract would also have a clause whereby within 18 months, manufacturer Dassault Aviation will showcase a Rafale Marine with the modifications the Indian Navy wanted.
The sources did not go into these specific changes, but said they were to ensure that the aircraft performed optimally from an Indian aircraft carrier.
TEDBF programme under review with NSCS
The sources also told ThePrint that the indigenous naval fighter programme, the Twin Engine Deck Based Fighter (TEDBF), had been cleared from all relevant ministries and was now being studied by the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS).
They told that the Navy had initially moved a proposal for 145 TEDBFs, basing their requirement for a three-carrier force.
However, it is learnt that defence policy planners are of the opinion that the Indian Navy should project requirements on the basis of two-aircraft carriers as of now.
Accordingly, fresh numbers projected are about 87 TEDBFs.
The sources also said the Navy was working closely with the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and they hoped to make the first flight of the TEDBF by 2028.
They said while formalities were being completed, the Navy, ADA and the relevant agencies were working on the three prototypes of the Tejas Navy. This, they said, was being funded by the earmarked budget for the Tejas.
The sources said the Navy had identified 14 essential upgrades it needed on the TEDBF, including automatic landing and take-off features that the Tejas Navy is short of.
Four of the 14 technologies identified have been tested on the Tejas Navy and have been accepted, they added.
“No time is being wasted. While discussions on numbers and design continue, the Indian Navy and the ADA are already working and proving technologies needed which will enable a faster development cycle for the TEDBF,” a source said.
In 2016, then Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba (retd). had rejected the Tejas Navy, saying the programme has not met the timeline and there were further delays.
“LCA Navy doesn’t meet the navy requirements and thus, we need to look at an alternative aircraft to have combat capability on our aircraft carrier. We will continue to support the ADA in developing an indigenous carrier-based fighter. But in the meantime, we need to have combat capability on Vikramaditya and Vikrant,” he had said.
The Navy’s contention was it needed a twin-engine fighter and not a single engine, and that Tejas Navy was always meant as a technology demonstrator. It had also identified several flaws, including weak under fuselage and landing gear, a low thrust-to-weight ratio to take off with a full payload, including fuel and weapons.
The sources underlined the Rafale Marine was a stop-gap arrangement and that the Indian Naval aviation future would be made up of TEDBFs.
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