India and France are currently negotiating the price and other related aspects for the crucial deal involving 26 Rafale Marine fighter aircraft for the Indian Navy. These talks, initially scheduled for May 30, were postponed to the second week of June, likely due to the ongoing Lok Sabha election process.
“The French delegation is in New Delhi, including officials from their Directorate General of Armament which is looking after the sale of the Rafale jets to India,” defence sources told ANI.
The Indian side in these government-to-government talks includes officials from the Directorate General of Acquisition under the Ministry of Defence and military officers from the user side.
This extensive project, expected to be worth over Rs 50,000 crore, would increase the number of advanced aircraft in India’s inventory to 62, adding to the existing 36 in the Air Force fleet.
The aircraft are planned to be operated from the Indian Navy’s aircraft carriers, INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant. According to plans, the Indian Navy will station these aircraft at INS Degha in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, as their home base.
France submitted its response to India’s tender for acquiring 26 Rafale Marine jets for the Indian Navy’s aircraft carriers in December last year. The response to India’s Letter of Acceptance was delivered by France in New Delhi.
The Indian side is negotiating with French government officials, aiming to secure a better deal as it is a government-to-government contract.