Navy to get 26 Rafale-M jets in Rs 63,000-cr deal
Ajay Banerjee
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, April 9
The Indian Navy will get French-origin Rafale-Marine fighter jets for its aircraft carriers, the deal expanding the force’s arc of offensive operations at sea and adding new capabilities such as long-range precision-strike missiles to hit ships and air targets.
In the event of a crisis, the Rafale-M jets can also be deployed to Indian Air Force (IAF) bases along the northern borders to bolster the IAF fleet of 36 Rafales.
The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday approved the purchase of 26 Rafale-M jets. These aircraft will be procured from French aviation major Dassault at a cost of Rs 63,000 crore, according to sources.
Can also bolster air force fighter fleet
- Rafale-M jets can augment the fleet of IAF’s Rafales
- Is capable of carrying Scalp-EG, a 650-km-range missile
- Will be deployed on indigenous carrier INS Vikrant
- To include 22 single-seater and four twin-seater jets
Deliveries are expected to commence three years after the contract is signed. The entire fleet is anticipated to be with the Navy by 2031. The deal includes weapons, simulator, spares, associated ancillary equipment, crew training and logistics support for the Navy. This will include India-specific add-ons such as establishing a maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO) hub, integration of India’s own Astra missile and sourcing from local suppliers.
The Rafale-M is capable of carrying ‘Scalp-EG’, a 650-km-range cruise missile. The jets, 22 single-seater and four twin-seater variants, will be deployed primarily on board indigenously built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant.
The Rafale-M purchase is one of the biggest military orders placed by the country after a tender was floated to get 97 Tejas Mark1A jets for Rs 65,000 crore. There were immediate comparisons on the social media of the price difference between the deals for Rafale-M and the IAF’s purchase of 36 Rafales for Rs 59,000 crore in 2016.
Operationally, the Rafale-M, like naval jets, have reinforced landing gears as a jet landing on an aircraft carrier mid-sea does not have the luxury of a long runway to stall. Like the Navy’s existing Russian-origin MiG-29K fighter jets, Rafale-M features foldable wings. This allows more planes to be parked in the hanger below the carrier’s deck as 25 per cent of the wings get folded.
The Rafale-M is a major jet upgrade for the naval forces after the MiG-29K planes joined its fleet in 2011. Of the 45 MiG-29K jets imported at a cost of $2 billion, five have crashed while the remaining operate from the INS Vikramaditya and the INS Vikrant. A few of the MiG-29K jets were forward located from their home base at INS Hansa to Adampur during the stand-off with China.
India