India has announced it could sign two deals to acquire 26 Rafale fighter aircraft and three additional Scorpene submarines for its navy by next month, The Economic Times reported.
The value of the acquisition is 90,000 crore Indian rupee ($10 billion), Indian Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh Tripathi said during a press conference.
In recent years, New Delhi has been negotiating with France to purchase the Rafale aircraft and with French firm Naval Group to build three Scorpene-class submarines at the facility of Indian shipbuilder Mazagon.
Moreover, Tripathi stated that New Delhi is reinforcing its efforts to monitor Chinese Navy activities in the Indian Ocean.
Rafale Aircraft
Although Paris and New Delhi have agreed on the Rafale aircraft deal for years, deliveries have been delayed amid corruption allegations against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In July 2023, the Indian Defence Ministry approved purchasing the Rafale-M jets from France to be deployed on board the aircraft carrier Vikrant, Indian Express reported.
In 2019, New Delhi received its first of 36 Rafale aircraft ordered from France in 2016 under a $9.4-billion contract.
Indian Submarine Program
The recent announcement of the possible construction of three submarines comes after India launched the last of its six Scorpene-class submarines, the Vagsheer, in 2022.
The initiative falls under “Project 75” to build the six submarines in collaboration with Naval Group and Mazagon under a $3.75-billion contract signed in 2005 to boost the country’s local production.