India, France to negotiate 26 Rafale-M jets, three Scorpene submarines
India and France are going to start bargaining over the purchase of 26 Rafale-M planes and three Scorpene submarines. According to our sources, the value of the two projects is somewhere about 10 billion euros, and we anticipate that the discussions will be centred on cost as well as other critical criteria, such as the comparative purchase prices of aircraft with comparable capabilities.
NEW DELHI: Despite the fact that the transaction was not included in the joint statement that was issued after the conclusion of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Paris last week, India has made it abundantly apparent that it will acquire 26 Rafale-M (Marine) fighters and three Scorpene submarines from France.
It has been mentioned that the price and terms of purchase for the Rafale-M aircraft would be negotiated with the French government after taking into account all pertinent variables, including the comparative procurement price of similar aircraft by other countries. This would take place once all relevant aspects have been taken into consideration.
According to the sources, “India and France will begin negotiations on cost and other aspects of the 26 Rafale-M jets and three Scorpene submarines,” and these two transactions are valued at approximately 10 billion euros combined. Additionally, these two deals will be negotiated simultaneously.
“These deals were not included in the roadmap (Roadmap on Indo-French Strategic Partnership Horizon 2047 – which was a vision document) as it was for the next 25 years,” sources said, adding that the negotiations would be done by French companies and India’s Defence Ministry. Roadmap on Indo-French Strategic Partnership Horizon 2047 was a vision document.
A day before Prime Minister Modi’s scheduled trip to France on July 13, the Indian Navy’s plan to purchase 26 Rafales and three submarines from France was given the green light by the Defence Acquisition Council, often known as the DAC.
On the same day, July 6, a framework memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between France’s Naval Group and India’s state-run Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) regarding the construction of three Scorpene submarines in India. In January, Naval Group signed another arrangement with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for the purpose of equipping submarines with air-independent propulsion (AIP) systems.
This new order will be a continuation of an earlier transaction in which MDL built six submarines of the Scorpene or Kalvari class using technology supplied by Naval Group as part of a project known as Project-75.
“Since the original deal was concluded in 2005, further discussions are needed for the pricing,” insiders pointed out, adding that the Scorpene will be co-developed by India and France and will be of the next generation. Engineers from both India and France will work together on the project to come up with a design and engineering plan for the military hardware that is specifically tailored to fulfil the criteria that are unique to India.
According to our sources, the goal of these negotiations will include the “transfer of technology to India and not just being offered something off the shelf.”
The parameters that are going to be negotiated for the Scorpene agreement are going to be the pricing, the date of delivery, and the parts that would be Made in India.
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