By Admin 
French President Emmanuel Macron is coming to India in the third week of February. He is expected to attend the AI Summit to be held in New Delhi on February 18. Preparations have started for the visit of the French President. The visit of the French President to India is very special for the Indian defense sector. In this visit of Macron, the proposal for purchase of Rafale is also included in the bilateral talks between India and France. In this deal, 114 Rafale fighter planes are to be purchased for the Indian Air Force, in which about Rs 3.25 lakh crore is to be spent.
According to news agency ANI, India’s Defense Procurement Board has already given preliminary consent to the proposal last month, which is likely to be discussed in the high level meeting of the Defense Minister of India next week. This deal is being considered very important in terms of the needs and operations of the Indian Air Force in view of the current security situation.
How many Rafales does India have now?
The timing of discussing the purchase of Rafale aircraft from France is very important. At present there are about 30 fighter squadrons in the Indian Air Force fleet, which is much less than its sanctioned strength of 42 squadrons. Defense experts point to the growing strategic and military alliance between Bangladesh and China, as well as between Pakistan and China, as a factor increasing India’s regional security concerns.
Why is Rafale special?
Rafale project is very special for the Indian Air Force. India’s offensive air power will increase with the availability of multirole fighter aircraft with more than 4.5 generation power. There was a shortage of lethal fighter planes in the Air Force for a long time, which will be fulfilled by this deal with Rafale. According to the proposal, as part of efforts to boost defense production in India, 80 percent of the 114 Rafale aircraft are to be manufactured in India.
Indian Air Force will have 150 Rafale in its fleet.
According to sources, Indian Air Force will buy 88 single seater and 26 twin seater aircraft. Most of the production will be done by French manufacturing company The Salt and Indian private sector company, which will be done in India only. After completion of the deal, the number of aircraft in the Rafale fleet of the Indian Air Force will increase to approximately 150.
Rafale worsened Pakistan’s condition in Operation Sindoor
114 Rafale deal is also special in this sense, because it performed brilliantly during Operation Sindoor. During this period, due to accurate attacks by India, Pakistan was forced to surrender. Rafale is a 4.5 generation fighter jet, which is considered much better than the Pakistani JF-17. Not only this, there are currently 36 Rafale fighter aircraft in the Indian Air Force fleet, while the Navy has also ordered new variants for 36 Rafales.