India and France will co-produce Rafale fighter jets as well as helicopters, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday, news agency Reuters reported. New Delhi had last week already cleared a long-pending proposal to procure 114 Rafale fighter jets under a government-to-government framework with France. The clearance from the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, came nearly two decades after the plan was originally rolled out to boost the Indian Air Force’s combat prowess.
The order for another 114 Rafales is a “new step forward” in defence ties between France and India, Macron said, hailing the move as “a new era of defence cooperation” between the two countries.
“On Rafale, what we want to do is expand. India confirmed a few days ago its willingness to command a new bunch of Rafales… 114… and to co-produce in India,” Macron said.
In its largest-ever defence acquisition push, the Defence Acquisition Council last week gave initial clearance to acquire 114 more Rafale jets for the air force, besides other planes and missiles, months after the worst fighting in decades between India and Pakistan.
90 of the 114 jets could be produced in India
So far, India has purchased 36 Rafales for its air force. New Delhi has also ordered another 26 marine versions of the jet for the navy.
Details of the Rafale deal including plans for co-production, expected to be sealed after technical and commercial negotiations, are yet to be made public.
114 Rafale deal India’s largest-ever defence acquisition push
As per media reports, the 114 jets manufactured by Dassault Aviation are expected to cost 3.25 trillion rupees ($35.65 billion).
It is learnt that up to 90 of the 114 jets could be produced in India with a joint venture partner who is yet to be identified.
“Rafale is absolutely key,” Macron said.
“I hope we will do it on submarines. We offered additional capacities.”
The Indian navy operates six French Scorpene submarines and there are plans to order more.
On Tuesday, Macron and Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced joint venture to build Everest-climbing H125 helicopter. The assembly line, located in Karnataka, will be a joint venture between Airbus and Tata Advanced Systems. There is also a plan to jointly produce HAMMER missiles in India, by Safran and India’s state-owned Bharat Electronics.
Rafale jets flown by the Indian Air Force were in the spotlight during India’s conflict with Pakistan last May.
Reuters reported that Pakistan’s Chinese-made J-10C jets shot down at least one Rafale, citing U.S. officials.
New Delhi has confirmed losses in the air but has not acknowledged a Rafale being shot down.