India and France will begin negotiations this week on a contract for 26 Rafale-Marine jets

NEW DELHI: India will officially begin contract negotiations against France this week for mega takeover of 26 Rafale-Marine fighters for over Rs 50,000 crore and the Navy is keen to launch supersonic jets for its two aircraft carriers at the earliest due to the growing threat from China in the Indian Ocean region.
A team of French government officials, including fighter maker Dassault and weapons systems integrator Thales, will arrive here on May 30 for talks with the contract negotiation committee (CNC) set up by the Indian defense ministry.
This came after the Ministry of Defense and the Navy assessed the offer or Letter of Acceptance (LoA) submitted by France in December in response to India’s Letter of Inquiry (LoR) for the acquisition of 22 single-seat jets and four two-seat trainers along with weapons, simulator, spare parts, crew training and logistical support.
“It took some time to review the extensive LoA with its offerings, technical specifications, costs and other details. The CNC is headed by an official from the acquisition wing of the Ministry of Defense and includes representatives from the Navy,” the official said.
The aim is to complete technical and commercial negotiations and sign an agreement between the governments, after the required approval by the Cabinet Committee on Security chaired by the Prime Minister, during the current financial year.
The proposed deals for 26 Rafale-M submarines and three additional Scorpene submarines, to be built at Mazagon docks at a cost of around Rs 30,000 crore, were cleared as necessary by the Rajnath Singh-led Defense Acquisition Board on July 13 last year, the date before the next Modi-Macron Summit in Paris.
The Navy has only 40 of the 45 MiG-29K jets, imported from Russia at a cost of $2 billion since 2009, to operate from the decks of two 40,000-plus-ton aircraft carriers, the older Russian INS Vikramaditya and the new home-grown INS Vikrant. MiG-29Ks have also suffered from poor handling and other problems over the years.
As it is likely to take at least a decade to launch an indigenously developed twin-engine carrier-based fighter (TEDBF), the Navy has insisted on procuring 26 Rafale-M jets as an interim solution. The IAF has already inducted 36 Rafales under the Rs 59,000-crore deal signed with France in September 2016.
China is currently testing its third aircraft carrier, the 80,000-plus-ton Fujian, after previously launching the 60,000-ton Liaoning and 66,000-ton Shandong and building more such warships.
Meanwhile, the Indian government has yet to give even an initial nod on the long-pending case for a third 45,000-ton aircraft carrier, let alone a more powerful 65,000-ton carrier that will take at least a decade to build.
The US has 11 nuclear-powered “super” aircraft carriers of 90,000-100,000 tons, each capable of carrying 70-80 fighters and planes. Importantly, Fujian – like the newest American aircraft carrier USS Gerald R Ford – is equipped with an electromagnetic catapult system that also enables the launch of much heavier aircraft for surveillance, early warning and electronic warfare purposes.
While America’s 10 Nimitz-class aircraft carriers have steam-powered catapults, INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant, as well as Liaoning and Shandong, only have angled jumps that allow the fighters to take off under their own power.