NEW DELHI: India has moved a step closer to the big-ticket defence deal on 114 Rafale fighters with France as the country has finalised the Letter of Request (LoR) for the acquisition of the 4.5-generation multirole jets for the IAF.“The LoR is ready and it is expected to be sent to France in a few weeks,” defence sources told TOI. LOR is a formal govt-to-govt document used to initiate major defence acquisitions under international frameworks like foreign military sales or intergovernmental agreements. The earlier estimate for the mega deal is worth around 3.25 lakh crore.Under the proposed deal, nearly 90 of the 114 fighter jets are planned to be manufactured in India through a partnership between French company Dassault Aviation and an Indian firm under the Make-in-India initiative. The remaining 24 aircraft are expected to be delivered in fly-away condition from France. The indigenous content of the jets would be nearly 50%.IAF chief Air Chief Marshal A P Singh is scheduled to visit France in early June just before PM Modi’s visit to the country from June 15 to 17 for the G7 Summit. Singh’s visit will give the final push to the mega deal. The final contract, which is expected by this year-end, will be signed after the final price negotiations and the approval of the cabinet committee on security (CCS). Besides the deal for 114 Rafale jets, the Navy is separately procuring 26 Rafale Marine aircraft from Dassault for carrier operations for which the agreement was inked on April 28 last year. The IAF already operates 36 Rafales received under the Sept 2016 inter-govt agreement.India’s Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA) programme, under which 114 fighter jets will be procured, is meant to address the critical capability gap in the IAF and check the depleting strength of its fighter squadrons, which have gone down to an alarming 29 from an ideal 42.5 squadrons, which are needed to effectively tackle a two-front security threat from Pakistan and China.At a time Pakistan is in the process to acquire 40 J-35 5th-generation fighters, India is pushing Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd to fast-track the delivery of Tejas aircraft under the two contracts with IAF. Earlier, defence secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh said they are hopeful HAL would deliver 10 Tejas Mk-1A fighter jets within this financial year.With the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) expected to be ready and enter service only by 2035, the govt’s immediate need for a stealth platform has brought Russia’s Su-57 back into focus.For the AMCA programme, the govt has shortlisted three domestic private-sector contenders for prototype development and manufacturing: Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL), a consortium led by Larsen & Toubro (L&T), and a consortium led by Bharat Forge.
