The Indian Navy will add more cogs to its already formidable arsenal in the coming years, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi expected to sign a deal to acquire 26 Rafale-Marine fighters for the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant and reiterate an order to build three more Scorpene ( Kalveri-class submarines in Mazagon Dockyards Limited (MDL) through the ‘Make in India’ route during his two-day visit to France this week, people familiar with the matter said.
While the South Block is tight-lipped about the defense deals to be signed during Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Paris on July 13-14, India and France are believed to sign a defense-industrial road map to push India to expanding the production of hardware platforms through engines and technologies developed in-house.
Prime Minister Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron will also unveil a bilateral Indo-Pacific roadmap with concrete steps to ensure freedom of navigation and maritime security for sea lanes in the region contested by a rising China.
According to information from the South Block, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh has convened a meeting of the Defense Acquisition Council (DAC) on July 13 to grant approval of necessity (AON) to the Indian Navy to acquire 26 Rafale-M fighters and also give the green signal to build three more class submarines Kalveri in MDL. The last of the six Kalveri-class submarines, INS Vagsheer, is expected to be commissioned next year, with the vessel currently undergoing tests and trials.
The three other Kalveri-class submarines will be equipped with Air Independent Propulsion (AIP), which has been designed by DRDO but will be tested and verified by a French naval group. The AIP provides a longer endurance than a normal diesel attack submarine, allowing it to remain submerged for more than a week without having to surface to recharge its batteries.
While the DAC approves the AON for the acquisition of 26 Rafale-M aircraft for INS Vikrant, the price and terms will subsequently be negotiated through a government-to-government route, with the French government getting the best price from Dassault Aviation. All 26 fighters will be single-seat versions with Indian Navy pilots trained in France as well as in advanced simulators in Goa.
All French Navy pilots flying the Rafale-M on the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle were trained in simulators as a two-seat means of reducing the fighter’s armament load. It is understood that one squadron (18 fighters) will be aboard INS Vikrant and the remaining eight will be base.