Rafale deal: India to ink Rafale deal with France today

India is set to ink the Euro 7.8 billion deal for Twin-engine Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft 36 Rafale jets with French Defence Minister Jean Yves Le Drian in New Delhi on Friday which is manufactured by Dassault Aviation (France) Multirole aircraft that is capable of performing a wide-range of combat roles such as air supremacy, interdiction, aerial reconnaissance, ground support, in-depth strike, anti-ship strike and nuclear deterrence. The new twin engine jets which will come equipped with latest missiles and weapon system, giving Indian Air Force a cutting edge over arch rival Pakistan. The deal for the aircraft, the first fighter jet deal in 20 years, will be inked tomorrow in the presence of Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and Drian, sources in Defence Ministry said. The deal comes with a saving of at least 750 million Euros than the one struck during the previous UPA government, which was scrapped by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government, besides a 50 per cent offset clause. The combat readiness of a country’s defence forces is of utmost importance to safeguard the sovereign and territorial integrity of a nation. The Indian Air Force has long been wanting to overhaul its obsolete fleet of fighter aircrafts which it procured long time back in the early 70s and 80s. Ever since the collapse of our long term defence partner mighty Soviet Union in the early 90s, India has never been able to strike a long term relationship with a foreign partner in procuring the state of art fighters, which are critical to India’s strike capabilities in air. Here are some insights into how the Rafale deal unfolded - Rationale behind the Rafale Deal: • Six world-renowned aircraft manufacturers entered the fray and competed hard to bag the contract of 126 fighter jets, which was touted to be the largest-ever defence procurement deal of India. • The Initial bidders were Lockheed Martin’s F-16s, Boeing’s F/A-18s, Eurofighter Typhoon, Russia’s MiG-35, Sweden’s Saab’s Gripen and Rafale. • The IAF tested all aircraft and after careful analysis on the bids, two of them — Eurofighter and Rafale — were shortlisted. Dassault finally was awarded the contract to provide 126 fighter jets, as it was the lowest bidder and the aircraft was easy on maintenance. Rationale behind Actual Procurement Process: • Indian Air Force sought additional fighter jets in 2001 as their fleet largely consists of heavy and light-weight combat aircraft. So the Defence Ministry considered bringing in intermediate medium-weight fighter jets. Though the idea has been around since 2001, the actual process began in 2007. • The Defence Acquisition Council, headed by then Defence Minister A.K. Antony, approved the Request for Proposal to buy 126 aircraft in August 2007. This kick-started the bidding process.