India and France reached an agreement Wednesday for the sale of 36 Rafale jets, after repeated delays over price negotiations threatened to derail the deal, reports The Indian Express.
An Inter-Government Agreement will be inked on September 23rd after the deal was cleared by both sides, reported news agency ANI. The cost of acquisition is believed to be around 7.87 billion euros. India is keen on inducting the fighter jets in the Indian Air Force for their strategic role to deliver nuclear weapons.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) currently has 32 fighter squadrons against an authorisation of 42, and many of them, particularly the MiGs, are reaching the end of their service in this decade.
Thirty-six Rafales, to be inducted between 2019 and 2023, will make for only two squadrons. This still leaves a huge gap, to be filled by either the indigenous Tejas fighters, or another foreign fighter such as the Swedish Gripen or the American F-16, both of which have offered to ‘Make in India’.
Although there is a follow-up clause in the IGA for buying an additional 18 Rafales, the numbers still fall short of the 126 Rafales India had originally planned to buy under the previous UPA government.