Green light for ₹3.25 lakh crore agreement; biggest fighter jets deal; 114 more Rafales to rule the skies

NEW DELHI: The Defence Acquisition Council has approved a Rs 3.25 lakh crore deal with France to buy 114 Rafale fighter jets. This is India's biggest deal for fighter jets. The deal will be signed when French President Emmanuel Macron arrives in Delhi on the 17th. Rs 2.5 lakh crore is for the aircraft and the rest for missiles and spare parts.

The proposal of the Council, chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, will be approved by the Security Committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi today. France will deliver 18 Rafale aircraft to India by 2030. Technology will be transferred to manufacture 96 of them with indigenous components in India. The lateral shells of the rear fuselage, the rear, the middle fuselage and the front will be manufactured at Tata Advanced Systems' Hyderabad plant. The contract also includes aircraft maintenance, refurbishment and pilot training.

Star of Sindoor

The Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter squadron strength officially dropped to 29 following the decommissioning of its last MiG-21 Bison squadrons. The requirement is 42. The gap from the absence of a fifth-generation advanced medium combat aircraft can be filled through Rafale. Equipped with long-range missiles Meteor, Scalp, Hammer missiles, and laser-guided bombs, the strength of the Rafale became crucial in Operation Sindoor.

Rafale and India

• India currently has 36 of the 4.5 generation twin-engine fighter jets. Deployed at Ambala Air Force Station and Hashimara in West Bengal
• Can perform land, sea attack, reconnaissance and nuclear deterrence missions in a single flight. State-of-the-art avionics suite
• 26 Rafale-Marine fighter jets to be delivered to the Navy in April 2025 at a cost of Rs 63,000 crore. First batch of aircraft to be delivered in 2029

👉 P-8I surveillance aircraft, anti-tank missile

👉 Six P-8I aircraft for naval surveillance (28,000 crores). Spy planes for 15,000 crores

👉 Anti-tank Vibhav mine for the Army, maintenance center for armored vehicles

👉 Electro-optical-infrared system for the Coastal Force