Key Points
Navy acquiring 26 Rafale Marine jets for INS Vikramaditya
Enables buddy-buddy refuelling for 10 aircraft
Government-to-government deal with France
Includes ground equipment and software upgrades
The Indian Navy is acquiring 26 Rafale Marine aircraft to enhance the capabilities of the indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya. The acquisition was in the final stages of being cleared by the cabinet committee on security.
The Rafale Marine jet deal has included a lot of components of the Indian Air Force fleet, like the capability to have buddy-buddy refuelling, which will enable around 10 aircraft of the 36-plane fleet to refuel others in the air, defence sources told ANI.
The equipment for providing the capability in the IAF fleet will help in extending the range of the aircraft in operations, they said.
The deal will also see the Indian Air Force get a lot of ground-based equipment for supporting their operations along with patches for upgrading the software, they said.
The government-to-government deal will see the Navy getting 22 single-seater and four twin-seater Rafale Marine jets and will require a lot of equipment to be put on the carrier to enable the operations of the 4-5 plus generation Rafales from its deck.
The Navy currently operates the MiG-29Ks which are to be operated from the INS Vikramaditya only in the near future.
The Indian Navy is also looking to acquire the indigenous fifth-generation aircraft which will be developed in the next few years by the Defence Research and Development Organisation.
The twin-engine deck-based fighter aircraft is likely to be the counterpart of the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft being developed by the Aeronautical Development Agency for the Indian Air Force.
