The IAF Rafale will be acquired under a ‘Make in India’ scheme with French plane maker Dassault partnering with an Indian firm

As India is on verge of sending out a formal letter of request (LoR) to France for procuring 114 more Rafale jets, the Indian Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal AP Singh will be in France on an official visit starting June 1 and is scheduled to visit Dassault and missile maker MBDA.

While Dassault makes the Rafale jets, missiles of the MBDA are used on several IAF platforms. An LoR is a formal government-to-government communication used to initiate defence procurement under an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) framework.

The IAF Rafale will be acquired under a ‘Make in India’ scheme with French plane maker Dassault partnering with an Indian firm.

For the deal, India has laid down a set of non -negotiable clauses including indigenous weapons and data links.

Engine, airframe and avionics part of transfer of technology. The integration of Indian weapons, missiles and ammunition on all the 114 jets is also part of the deal.

The plane maker is expected to provide secure data links to allow digital integration of the jets with Indian radars and sensors sending imagery to ground-based controllers.

In the past few year’s avionics, weapons and missiles on the Rafale have been upgraded since IAF ordered its fleet of 36 in 2015. The IAF flies what is the ‘F3R’ version of the plane, same as the French Air Force. Dassault Aviation has introduced the ‘F-4’ version – an upgrade. India is seeking a mix of the ‘F-4’ version and upcoming ‘F-5’ version.

Also the plane maker will be providing transfer of technology (ToT) for making air frames. Its suppliers like engine maker Safran and avionics provider Thales will be part of the ToT. The indigenous content is expected to be between 55 % and 60 % once ToT for air frames, engines and avionics is done.

The upgrade includes next generation of active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar for longer detection range and improved resilience to electronic warfare. It is to have a better self-protection system to detect and counter new and emerging threats. Capabilities would include better long-range detection and identification of enemy threats backed by missiles with longer ranges. It is to mated with better satellite links and even have artificial intelligence algorithms to assist the pilot with improved situational awareness and decision-making.

The Rafale fighter jets, as part of IAF’s multi-pronged plan to add more number of jets. The IAF already flies 36 Rafale jets, while the Navy has ordered 26 of the marine variant of the same jet. Increasing numbers would reduce maintenance costs.

A Rafale flight training and Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) facility is operational at the IAF base in Ambala. The IAF has the capacity – the space, spares, tooling and trained manpower — to immediately take-in two squadrons (some 36-38 planes).