France pushing on Govt to Govt deal for 36 more Rafales with India

Source : Indian Defence Updates (IDU)

An Indian Air Force Rafale in Ladakh during a flight sortie (Image Source : Indian Air Force)

After the completion of deliveries of all 36 contracted Rafale fighter jets to the Indian Air Force, France is again pushing for repeat orders of another 36 aircraft from India as the 114 MRFA tender is facing considerable delays.

The Indian Air Force is not keen on the offer and instead wants to procure 114 jets but the tender itself is yet to take off due to complex Transfer of Technology clauses that are yet to be framed thus causing delays in the issue of Request For Proposal (RFP).

The Dassault Reliance Aerospace Limited (DRAL) in Nagpur will continue to manufacture some of the components and panels for the Rafale fighter jets as part of its Global Supply Chain but it won't be made as a second production line out of France until India places firm orders for the jet.