Delhi, New: rafale jet;As per the sources, the Defence Acquisition Council, headed by Defence Minister Mr. Rajnath Singh, is most likely going to green light a proposal on Tuesday for the procurement of 26 Rafale-Maritime strike aircraft for the Aircraft Carrier INS Vikrant. The cost-negotiating committee will be convened thereafter when the last change is formally accepted.
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rafale jet; to upgrade the MiG-29K fighters
While the government is tight lipped about the DAC meeting, HT has come to know that Singh will take a call on approving the ₹70,000 crore construction of seven more Project 17 B stealth frigates. The new frigates will probably have substantial strike capabilities and will weigh about 8000 tons each.
Moreover, HT learns that the DAC has agreed not to go ahead with the amendment which sought to timelessly fit the DRDO’s experimental AESA radar on the Rafale-M as the costs involved in such a course are very high and will delay the project even more. Owing to the limited number and the need to upgrade the MiG-29K fighters that are on board INS Vikramaditya, the Indian navy is seeking the Rafale-M jets for its new carrier INS Vikrant.
rafale jet; construction of three more Kalvari class submarines.
The agreement of purchase for 41 MQ 9B Predator drones expected to be signed in the three months before October 31, and the order of Rafale-M fighters, and the construction of three more Kalvari class submarines in the country by the end of the year will be most welcomed for the development of the Indian military power projection capabilities, particularly the Navy, within next three months. This month during his visit to the US, Singh presented the requirements for Predator drones to the Department of Defense and was briefed by the US manufacturer General Atomics on the drones purchase.
The Macron government is willing to deepen its commitment to allowing India to manufacture fighters, underwater drones, and long range missiles. The Biden administration has made it clear that any military hardware which India requires will be supplied by the US.
The Indian Navy plans to have 200 warships by 2027, according to one of the long-term prospective plans. It seems that timeline has faced some process and resources constraints. The next two years would see the PLA navy embarking on prolonged embarkations such as range patrols into the Indian Ocean with turnaround heads in, but not limited to, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Djibouti, Cambodia and looking towards Bangladesh, thus there is no option than improving marines. However, with action to avoid suffocating or choking off even the Philippines’s Navy and projecting forces even by ships and planes into Japan’s EEZ, the PLA Navy has already shown aggression against both nations.
Indian Navy can no longer afford to sit it out and must seek DAC clearance soon to get into building of class of ships Project 15 of 10-12000 tons destroyers fitted with anti-ballistic missile systems and the ability to launch drones out of rapidly degrading strategic environment in Indo Pacific region.
