In the Balance

Atul Chandra

The long overdue modernisation of Indian naval aviation is now gaining momentum with the service slated to induct modern fighter aircraft, maritime patrol assets and Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) drones. This momentum could not have come a moment too soon, with the Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) accelerating its induction of ever more modern homegrown naval air assets.

Rafale Marine

New Wings

Dassault Aviation edged out Boeing earlier this year, to have its Rafale M (Marine) selected instead of the F/A-18E/F Block III Super Hornet to meet the navy’s requirement for 26 Multi-Role Carrier Borne Fighters (MRCBF). In July, this year, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), which is headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, granted the Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for the 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 an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA).

In October, the news agency ANI stated that the ministry of defence (MoD) had given a letter of request (LOR) to the French government for the procurement of 26 Rafale Ms to be finalised in a government-to-government deal. The navy will purchase 22 Rafale M single-seaters and four Rafale M twin-seaters.

The ANI report also stated that India had requested for the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) developed Astra Beyond-Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVRAAM) to be integrated on the Rafale M. The MoD has also stated that integration of Indian-designed equipment and establishment of a maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) hub for various systems would be incorporated into the Rafale M contract after negotiations.

India is the first export customer for the Rafale M, which in its original F1 standard featured only air-to-air capabilities and became operational with t