New Delhi (thestates.news)| The Defence Ministry on Thursday approved the proposal for procurement of 26 Rafale Marine aircraft and three additional Scorpene submarines from France.
The project was cleared by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, when PM Narendra Modi embarked on a two-day visit to France today.

The Defence Ministry in a statement said it will boost Indian Navy’s operational capabilities.

“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)” said the Ministry in a Statement.India has already procured 36 Rafale jets from France for the Indian Air Force.The DAC’s approval to the projects came around a week after they were cleared by the Defence Procurement Board (DPB).

Over the price and other terms of purchase, the Ministry said, “They 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” it said.

The three additional Scorpene submarines under Buy (Indian) category, will be constructed by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL).

The Ministry said it will also help the MDL in further enhancing its capability and expertise in submarine construction.”The procurement of additional submarines, with higher indigenous content, will not only help in maintaining required force level and operational readiness of the Indian Navy, but also create significant employment opportunities in the domestic sector”, the statement said.

In addition, the DAC approved the proposal to lay down guidelines for achieving the desired indigenous content in all categories of capital acquisition cases. “It will help in achieving ‘Aatmanirbharta’ in critical manufacturing technologies and life-cycle sustenance of defence platforms/equipment through indigenous manufacturing” the Defence Ministry said. (UNI)