India to buy 26 more Rafale fighter jets from France

By Shuriah Niazi

NEW DELHI (AA) - India’s Defense Ministry has approved proposals to purchase another 26 Rafale fighter aircraft from France and build three Scorpene-class conventional submarines for the Indian Navy.

The Defense Ministry statement, issued on Thursday, coincides with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two-day visit to France.

According to the statement, “The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) meeting held under the chairmanship of Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, approved three proposals. The DAC granted Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for procurement of 26 Rafale Marine aircraft along with associated ancillary equipment, weapons, simulator, spares, documentation, crew training and logistic support for the Indian Navy from the French Government based on Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA).”

“The price and other terms of purchase will be negotiated with the French Government after taking into account all relevant aspects, including comparative procurement price of similar aircraft by other countries. Further, integration of Indian designed equipment and establishment of Maintenance, Repair & Operations (MRO) Hub for various systems will be incorporated into the contract documents after due negotiations,” said the statement.

The ministry also approved the procurement of three additional Scorpene-class submarines, which will be built by the Indian company Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL).

In Sept. 2016, India signed an agreement with France to purchase 36 Rafale fighter jets for €7.87 billion ($8.8 billion). France has already delivered all 36 Rafale fighter jets to New Delhi.

- Political controversy

The multi-billion dollar deal in 2016 sparked a political debate in the country, with the main opposition Congress Party accusing Prime Minister Modi of paying three times the price negotiated in 2014 when the Indian National Congress party was in power.

The Congress party had demanded that Modi be investigated for his role in the deal.

In 2018, former ministers Yashwant Sinha, Arun Shourie, and activist lawyer Prashant Bhushan filed a petition with the Supreme Court of India, accusing the Modi government of prima facie evidence of commission in the Rafale deal. The trio, as well as lawyer Vineet Dhandha and Aam Aadmi Party lawmaker Sanjay Singh, later filed review petitions.

However, in Nov. 2019, the Supreme Court rejected review petitions related to the deal and upheld its 2018 ruling, exonerating the government of allegations of irregularities in the procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets.