All Rafale jets to be delivered by 2022: Sitharaman

At a time when Congress and BJP continue to trade allegations over Rafale fighter aircraft deal, the Defence Ministry has informed the Parliament that the project is progressing as scheduled and all the 36 jets are expected to be delivered by April 2022.

“As per the Inter-Governmental Agreement, signed between the Government of India and the Government of French Republic, delivery of 36 Rafale aircraft in a fly-away condition along with associated equipment and weapons will commence from September 2019 and will be completed by April 2022. The project is progressing as per schedule,” Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told the Rajya Sabha in a written response.

She didn't respond to a specific query from AAP lawmaker Sanjay Singh on the timeline of the delivery of 36 jets.

Pricing of these French fighter aircraft is the issue for an ongoing political tussle between the BJP-led NDA and Opposition party Congress.

Congress alleged that Narendra Modi government inked the controversial defence deal at an inflated price of Rs 1570.8 crore per aircraft as against the Rs 526.1 crore per aircraft price as negotiated by the UPA. Congress claimed in the UPA era, the defence ministry disclosed the prices of several military hardware in the Parliament.

The Defence Ministry had earlier clarified that the base price of each of the Rafale fighter jet was Rs 670 crore without the associated equipment, weapons, India Specific Enhancements, maintenance support and services.

The first Rafale jet is expected to be delivered to the IAF next year. They would be housed in the Air Force stations Ambala in Punjab and Hashimara in West Bengal.