114 Rafale, six p-8i aircraft and … neither pirates will survive, neither Pak-China submarines, big deal going to India

With the aim of strengthening India’s military capabilities, the government is preparing to finalize several major defense deals in the coming weeks, under which the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Navy are going to get important fighter equipment. At the top of this list, the Indian Air Force is proposed to buy 114 Rafale fighter aircraft from France, which aims to meet the increasing shortage of its fighter squadrons. This urgency has increased further because the Indian Air Force is preparing to retire its MiG-21 squadrons in Chandigarh next month, which will reduce the total number of active fighter squadrons to only 29, which is much lower than the approved number 42.

The central government is emphasizing on speeding up the Rafale procurement process and is expected to get the first squadron within 18 months of signing the contract. The Indian Air Force has already submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Defense, which is currently being reviewed by various internal departments including Defense Finance. After internal approval, the proposal will go to the Defense Purchase Board (DPB) and then to the Defense Acquisition Council (DAC) for the requirement acceptance, which will pave the way for formal commercial talks. Meanwhile, India is also moving forward on major defense agreements with the US. The Indian Navy is about to buy six additional P-8i maritime surveillance aircraft, which is now in the final stages. A high-level delegation of the US Department of Defense, along with Boeing officials, is currently in India to finalize the agreement.

During the tenure of President Donald Trump, there have been concerns about the US trade policies, but the Ministry of Defense has confirmed that there has been no negative impact on bilateral defense cooperation. Actually, another big deal of 113 F-404 engines with the US has already been done.