India’s Rafale expansion explained: What the Rs 3.6 lakh crore plan means

India on Thursday cleared a long-pending proposal to procure 114 Rafale fighter jets under a government-to-government framework with France, in what marks the country’s largest-ever defence acquisition push. The plan was originally rolled out nearly two decades ago to boost the Indian Air Force’s combat prowess.

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by defence minister Rajnath Singh, approved capital acquisition of military hardware worth Rs 3.60 lakh crore. The approvals also include procurement of an additional six US-made Boeing P8-I surveillance aircraft for the Indian Navy.

What is the Rafale procurement plan?

Under the Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA) project, 18 aircraft will be supplied by Dassault Aviation, the maker of Rafale, in fly-away condition. The remaining jets will be manufactured in India with over 50 per cent indigenous content that will be met in phases, sources said.

Though the defence ministry did not provide the cost of the procurement, it is expected to be in the range of Rs 2.90 lakh crore to Rs 3.15 lakh crore.

The approval came four days ahead of French president Emmanuel Macron’s visit to India. The Rafale purchase plan is expected to be taken up soon by the prime minister-led Cabinet Committee on Security, and there is a possibility of India and France inking an inter-governmental pact on the project during Macron’s trip.

However, a formal contract on the deal is unlikely before the end of the year as the defence ministry will now have to carry out negotiations with Dassault Aviation to finalise the cost and the finer details of the weapons package.

What weapons will the jets carry?

The Rafale jets are capable of carrying a range of potent weapons. European missile maker MBDA’s Meteor beyond visual range air-to-air missile and Scalp cruise missile will be the mainstay of the weapons package of the Rafale jets.

How did the project evolve?

In April 2019, the Indian Air Force issued a Request for Information (RFI), or initial tender, to acquire 114 Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft at a cost of around USD 18 billion. It was billed as one of the world’s biggest military procurement programmes in recent years.

Other contenders for the project included Lockheed Martin’s F-21, Boeing’s F/A-18 and the Eurofighter Typhoon.

Nearly 13 years back, the defence ministry had completed groundwork for procurement of a fleet of Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA). However, the project didn’t go through.

In 2015, the Modi government announced a government-to-government framework to procure 36 Rafale fighters in the face of rapidly declining squadron strength of the Indian Air Force. The NDA government finally inked the deal on September 23, 2016, after a nearly seven-year exercise to procure 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft did not fructify during the UPA regime.

The Indian Air Force had begun its hunt for the MMRCA in the late 1990s and the RFI for it was floated in 2004. The IAF currently operates the jets. Last year, the Indian Navy sealed a Rs 64,000 crore deal to procure 26 marine variants of the Rafale jet.

Why is India buying more fighter jets now?

The move to procure the jets has come at a time when the number of the Indian Air Force’s fighter squadrons have gone down to 31 from the officially sanctioned strength of 42.

“The Defence Acquisition Council, under the chairmanship of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, accorded Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for various proposals of the Services at an estimated value of about Rs 3.60 lakh crore,” the defence ministry said.

“For the Indian Air Force, AoN was approved for the procurement of Multi Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA) Rafale, combat missiles and air-ship based high altitude pseudo satellite (AS-HAPS),” it said.

The ministry said procurement of MRFA will enhance the capability of undertaking air dominance roles across the spectrum of conflict and significantly boost the deterrence capabilities of the IAF with long range offensive strikes.

“The majority of MRFA to be procured will be manufactured in India. The Combat Missiles will enhance the stand-off ground attack capability with deep strike power and very high accuracy,” it said.

The ministry said the AS-HAPS will be utilised towards carrying out persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, electronic intelligence, telecommunication and remote sensing for military purposes.

What else has been approved?

For the Indian Army, AoN was accorded for the procurement of anti-tank mines (Vibhav) and overhaul of vehicle platforms of Armoured Recovery Vehicles (ARVs), T-72 Tanks and Infantry Combat Vehicles (BMP-II).

Vibhav mines will be laid as an anti-tank obstacle system to delay the advance of enemy mechanized forces, the ministry said.

The overhaul of vehicle platforms of ARVs, T-72 Tanks and BMP-II will enhance service life of equipment ensuring readiness and operational effectiveness of the Indian Army, it said.

For the Indian Navy, approval was accorded for four MW Marine Gas Turbine based electric power generator and P8I Long Range Maritime Reconnaissance Aircraft.

Induction of four MW marine gas turbine based electric power generator under Make-I category of Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020 will minimise the dependency on foreign manufacturers, ensure self-reliance in power generation requirement of Indian Navy.

The acquisition of P8I aircraft will significantly boost the Navy’s war-fighting capability of long-range anti-submarine warfare, maritime surveillance and maritime strike capability.

(With inputs from agencies)