India clears procurement of Rafale-M jets for Navy

New Delhi: The government Wednesday is understood to have cleared the procurement of 26 naval variant of Rafale jets from France at a cost of around Rs 64,000 crore, sources in the defence establishment said.

The mega procurement project has been approved by the Cabinet Committee on Security chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, they said.

In July 2023, the defence ministry approved the purchase of 26 Rafale (marine) jets from France, primarily for deployment on board the indigenously built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant.

The ministry had also cleared procurement of three Scorpene submarines from France.

However, the CCS is yet to clear the project.

Under the Indian Navy’s Project 75, six Scorpene submarines have already been constructed in India by the Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) in cooperation with the Naval Group of France.

The procurement of the Rafale (M) jets along with associated ancillary equipment, including weapon systems and spares, would be based on an inter-governmental agreement (IGA).

The Indian Air Force bought 36 Rafale fighter aircraft in fly-away condition.

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