India has signed a contract to purchase 26 Rafale fighter jets from France, New Delhi’s defence ministry said yesterday, with the multi-billion-dollar deal to include both single and twin-seat planes.
When delivered, the jets would join 36 French-made Rafale fighters already acquired by New Delhi as part of its efforts to rapidly modernise its military hardware.
“The governments of India and France have signed an inter-governmental agreement for the procurement of 26 Rafale Aircraft,” the defence ministry said in a statement.
The jets made by French aerospace company Dassault Aviation are expected to operate from Indian-made aircraft carriers, replacing the Russian MiG-29K jets.
“It includes training, simulator, associated equipment, weapons and performance-based logistics” as well as 22 single-seater and four twin-seater jets, said India’s defence ministry.
“It also includes additional equipment for the existing Rafale fleet of the Indian Air Force (IAF).”
The Indian government announced its intention to procure 26 Rafales in 2023, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited France for the Bastille Day celebrations.
Despite historical ties with Russia as its key supplier for military equipment, India has diversified in recent years with key purchases including from France as well as from the US and Israel.
Dassault said that the jets will provide India with “state-of-the-art capabilities” and an “active role in guaranteeing national sovereignty and consolidating India’s role as a major international player”.
India’s navy is the first user outside France of the Rafale Marine jet, the company said.
Yesterday’s deal comes as India’s relations with Pakistan plummet to fresh lows over a militant attack in Kashmir.
The two countries have exchanged gunfire, diplomatic barbs, expelled each other’s citizens and shut border since the April 22 attack, in which 26 men were killed.
Analysts say there is also a serious risk of the crisis turning into a military escalation.
The earlier contract for 36 Rafale aircraft, agreed in 2016, was worth about $9.4bn.
Many global arms suppliers see the world’s most populous nation - and fifth-largest economy - a key market.
India has become the world’s largest arms importer with purchases steadily rising to account for nearly 10% of all imports globally in 2019-23, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said last year.
