India gave its agreement in principle, Thursday July 13, for the purchase from France of twenty-six Rafale fighter planes, in Navy version for aircraft carriers, and three Scorpène submarines, on the occasion a trip by the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, to Paris, guest of honor for the July 14 national holiday.
India’s Defense Acquisition Board has approved the purchase proposals, India’s defense ministry said in a statement, adding that the price and other terms are yet to be negotiated with the French government.
Discussions regarding these long-awaited agreements will take into account “all important aspects, including the purchase price of similar aircraft from other countries,” the statement said. Dassault Aviation’s Rafale Navy version are intended for the first Indian-made aircraft carrier, called INS-Vikrant and commissioned last year.
India had already purchased six Scorpene submarines, designed by Naval Group. The three new submarines acquired will be manufactured “with a greater number of Indian contents, by the Mazagon shipyard, near Bombay, “creating significant employment opportunities” local, the statement continued.
Main partners of India
This contract, if it materializes, will be a continuation of a first order of 36 Rafale, signed by India in 2016, for an amount of 7.8 billion euros. However, this agreement has been the subject of a judicial investigation since 2021 for suspicion of “corruption” and “favoritism”.
For several years, France has succeeded in becoming one of India’s main partners in the arms market. Over the 2018-2022 period, Paris sold New Delhi nearly 30% of its military equipment, thus becoming its second largest defense supplier. These exchanges remain lower than those, historical, between Russia and India – Moscow provided the Indian army about 45% of its equipment over the same period –, but are far ahead of the United States, which has peaked at 11% of these imports in recent years.
The acquisition of three new conventional Scorpene-type submarines will follow on from a program launched in 2005, aimed at providing India with six submarines of the same class. The last should be delivered in 2024.