India agrees to buy submarines, fighter jets from France
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The Defense Procurement Board of India has approved the purchase of 26 Rafale-M multirole carrier-based fighters and three Scorpene submarines from France. Message about it published website of the Ministry of Defense of India.
“The price and other conditions of the purchase will be agreed with the French government after taking into account all relevant aspects, including the comparative purchase price of similar aircraft by other countries,” the military department said in a statement.
The contract, after negotiations, will also include the creation of a maintenance and repair center for fighters. It is assumed that their deliveries will be carried out together with equipment, weapons, simulators and crew training.
The Scorpene submarines will be built by India’s Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders. This will not only maintain the level of readiness of the Indian Navy, but will also create employment opportunities for citizens, and will also help the company expand its expertise in the construction of submarines, the Ministry of Defense emphasized.
Earlier, Vedomosti wrote that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the French capital on July 13-14 and the main purpose of his visit is an arms purchase agreement. The total value of these contracts could reach $13.3 billion.
The Rafale-M fighters are a carrier-based version of the 36 Rafale already purchased by the Indian Air Force. The Rafale-M is seen as a replacement for Russian carrier-based MiG-29K/KUB fighters. They are manufactured by Dassault and can be used by the Indian aircraft carriers Vikramaditya and Vikrant. Submarines of the Scorpene type are manufactured by the French corporation Naval Group. The Indian Navy already has four units in service.
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