Navy A Step Closer To Getting Its Own Rafales, France Sends Detailed Bid
NDTV
France has responded to the Navy's request for 26 fighter jets with a detailed bid. New Delhi will now evaluate the bid closely before entering contract negotiations
The Indian Navy is now one step closer to getting Rafale fighter jets to operate off the deck of its aircraft carriers, INS Vikrant and INS Vikramaditya.
France has officially responded to the Navy's request for 26 fighter jets with a detailed bid. New Delhi will now evaluate the bid closely before entering contract negotiations with Paris. The deal is expected to be in the range of 5.5 billion euros - about Rs 50,000 crore. Earlier, 36 Rafale aircraft have been procured for the Indian Air Force.
The Navy plans to get the Rafale jets to supplement the MiG-29K jets onboard the two carriers. The MiG-29K has been plagued with reliability issues. Underlining the issues, a Comptroller and Auditor General report in 2016 had said, "The MiG-29K, which is a carrier-borne multi-role aircraft and the mainstay of integral fleet air defence, is riddled with problems."
