The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has cleared the proposals worth ₹3.60 lakh crore to procure 114 new Rafale jets from France’s Dassault Aviation, officials said on Thursday, adding that majority of the Multi Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA) {Rafale} will be manufactured in India.
“The procurement of MRFA will enhance the capability of undertaking air dominance roles across the spectrum of conflict and significantly boost the deterrence capabilities of IAF with long range offensive strikes,” the defence ministry said in a statement.
“The Combat Missiles will enhance the stand-off ground attack capability with deep strike power and very high accuracy. The AS-HAPS will be utilised towards carrying out persistent Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, Electronic Intelligence, telecommunication and remote sensing for military purposes,” it said further.
The Indian Air Force’s fighter squadron strength has come down to 29 in recent months, which is below the approved number of 42. Its workhorse MiG-21 was retired in September and other early variants of the MiG-29, the Anglo-French Jaguar and the French Mirage 2000, are nearing the retirement, according to Reuters.
