New Delhi, February 12 The Defence Ministry on Thursday cleared a long-pending proposal to procure 114 Rafale fighter jets under a government-to-government framework from France, nearly 13 years after a similar acquisition was almost finalized.
In total, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, approved capital acquisition of military hardware worth Rs 3.60 lakh crore to enhance the combat readiness of the defence forces.
The approval for the procurement of the Rafale jets came just four days ahead of French President Emmanuel Macron's visit to India.
However, a formal contract to finalize the deal is unlikely before the end of the year, as the Defence Ministry will now have to negotiate with Dassault Aviation to finalize the cost and finer details of the weapons package.
In April 2019, the Indian Air Force issued an RFI (Request for Information), or initial tender, to acquire 114 Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA) at a cost of around USD 18 billion.
This was billed as one of the world's biggest military procurement programmes in recent years.
Other contenders for the mega project included Lockheed Martin's F-21, Boeing's F/A-18, and the Eurofighter Typhoon.
The move to procure the jets has come at a time when the number of Indian Air Force's fighter squadrons has gone down to 31 from the officially sanctioned strength of 42.
Nearly 13 years ago, the Defence Ministry had completed the groundwork for procurement of a fleet of Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA).
However, the project did not go through.
In 2015, the Modi government announced a government-to-government deal for 36 Rafale fighters in the face of rapidly declining squadron strength of the Indian Air Force (IAF).
The Indian Air Force currently operates these Rafale jets.
