Deal for 36 Rafale jets signed

India on Friday secured its biggest-ever defence deal when it signed a euro 7.87-billion (nearly Rs 59,000 crore) contract with France to purchase 36 Rafale fighter jets.

The jets’ delivery will commence by September 2019 and the entire lot would be handed over to the Indian Air Force by April 2022.

Most of the vintage Russian-origin MiG aircraft would be phased out by then. The inter-governmental agreement formalising the contract was signed here between Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and his French counterpart Jean Yves Le Drian.

While the average base price of each jet is euro 91.7 million (about Rs 686 crore), the figure shoots up to nearly Rs 1,640 crore per jet when the cost of the weapon package, supplies and logistics are taken into
account.

The warplane’s most crucial weapon is the Meteor air-to-air beyond visual-range missile, which could be a potential game changer as it is capable of hitting a target at a distance of more than 100 km. This means targets deep inside Pakistan and China can be destroyed from the Indian airspace. It also has an accuracy of two metres.

The deal has materialised 16 months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced India’s plans to buy 36 Rafale fighter aircraft in fly-away condition during his April 2015 trip to France. The previous tender to buy 126 Rafale fighter jets was cancelled by the NDA government because the deal was becoming too costly to realise.

“This is the first deal for procurement of fighter jets (for the IAF) signed in 20 years, which is unique in itself. Rafale is a potent weapon that will boost IAF’s capability,” Parrikar told reporters. India’s previous fighter aircraft purchase agreement was with Russia in 1996 to buy Su-30s off the shelf. Later, the technology was transferred to India for licensed production at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.

Government sources said France agreed to maintain 75% serviceability of Rafale jets manufactured by Dassault Aviation. This means 27 of the 36 Rafale fighters would be battle-ready at all times. India has the right to impose penalty on the French plane-maker if this condition is not met.

Compared to older generation fighters, which can make three sorties in 24 hours, Rafale jets can make five sorties in the same time. Its engine replacement too does not take much time as only 30 minutes are needed for the task, while an Su-30 MKI takes about eight hours.

Inclusion of the Meteor missile makes the weapon package better than the one offered previously. Other air-to-ground missiles are Mica and Scalp with respective ranges of 70 km and 300 km. Through hard negotiation, the government has saved euros 328 million from the initial offer price.

To New Delhi’s advantage, the aircraft would come with several India-specific enhancements, including an Israeli helmet-mounted display. Inclusion of these requirements in the deal has led to a three-year waiting period to receive the first aircraft.