Editor-DN
India and France are negotiating a deal to buy 26 Rafale Marine jets.
New Delhi:
France has submitted its final price offer to India for the 26 Rafale Marine jet deal just ahead of the scheduled visit of India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval to the country.
Defense sources told ANI that the best and final price offer has been submitted by the French side to the Indian authorities for the project and the proposed contract has been significantly reduced after intense negotiations.
India and France are negotiating a deal to buy 26 Rafale marine jets to be deployed on the INS Vikrant aircraft carrier and at various bases.
The two sides also held talks last week when a French team was in the national capital to finalize talks with India.
The agreement will be discussed during the India-France Strategic Dialogue where the Indian NSA is scheduled to meet its French counterparts in Paris tomorrow.
The deal is significant for the Indian Navy as it looks to strengthen its maritime strike capability.
India has also approved deviations in the letter of solicitation, a tender document equivalent to government-to-government deals, such as the integration of the indigenous Uttam radar into Indian Navy jets.
Sources said that the merger would take a long time of around eight years and the French side would have to pay a heavy price for it.
India had also asked France to integrate indigenous weapons into the aircraft. It includes the Rodrum anti-radiation missile as well as the Astra beyond-visual-range missile.
Sources added that the contract price is based on inflation-adjusted contracts and the previous contract for 36 Rafale fighter jets for the Indian Air Force will be used as a baseline.
The naval agreement also includes some of the requirements of the Indian Air Force which will include about 40 drop tanks and a smaller number of work stations for the aircraft.
The project is planned to be completed before the end of this financial year with India’s long-range Meteor air-to-air missile and anti-ship weapons.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
