India has finalized the Letter of Request (LoR) to purchase 114 Rafale fighter jets for the Indian Air Force. It is expected that it will be sent to France in the next few weeks.

Under this deal, 90 out of 114 fighter jets will be built under a partnership between French aerospace company Dassault Aviation and an Indian firm. The remaining 24 fighter jets are expected to be delivered in fly-away condition.

‘The Indian Express’ quoted sources as saying that once France responds to the LoR, India will move towards issuing a formal request for proposal (RFP) for the purchase. Let us tell you that LoR is a formal government-to-government communication which is used to initiate defense procurement under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) or Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) framework.

DAC has already approved Rafale purchase

India’s Defense Acquisition Council (DAC) has already approved the procurement proposal for the Indian Air Force. After sending the LoR, a response is expected from France with details related to pricing, availability and logistics support, after which negotiations between the two parties will begin. However, before signing the final contract, approval will have to be taken from the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS).

Indian Navy will induct Rafale-M fighter jet

The Indian Air Force already has 36 Rafale fighter jets, while the Indian Navy is preparing to induct 26 Rafale-M in the coming time. Due to the existing operational ecosystem and the acquisition of Rafale, the cost of logistics, maintenance and training is also expected to reduce.

Rafale fighter jet will be made in India with France

India has also put pressure on the French side to increase the role of Indian companies in the Rafale production ecosystem and has demanded up to 50 percent indigenous content in the proposed fighter jets. This demand is expected to be included in Dassault Aviation’s bid to procure 114 Multirole Fighter Aircraft (MRFA) for the Indian Air Force.

The talks have intensified with the approval to purchase 114 next-generation multirole fighter aircraft from DAC. If this deal goes through, it will become one of India’s biggest defense purchases. With this, France will become the second largest partner of Indian arms after Russia.