India and France are set to finalise a deal for the purchase of 26 Rafale fighter jets for the Indian Navy on Monday, according to the Ministry of Defence.

The agreement is valued at approximately Rs 63,000 crore, a crucial step in bolstering the Indian Navy's combat capabilities. The deal includes 22 single-seater jets and four twin-seater training variants, reported IANS.

Initially, French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu was expected to visit India to sign the agreement on Sunday; however, due to personal reasons, his visit was cancelled.

He will now join discussions with Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh via video conference. Additionally, ‘Government-to-business’ agreements between India and France will be finalised on Monday.

The signing ceremony in New Delhi will be attended by Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh and the French Ambassador to India, Thierry Mathou. The deal has already received approval from the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Once the Rafale deal is concluded, deliveries of the Rafale-M fighter jets will begin in 2028-29, with all 26 aircraft expected to be supplied by 2031-32. These jets will be deployed on the Indian Navy’s aircraft carriers, INS Vikramaditya and the indigenous INS Vikrant.

The deal also includes a comprehensive package for fleet maintenance, logistics support, personnel training, and the domestic production of components as part of offset obligations. The Indian Air Force already operates a fleet of Rafale jets.

Additionally, the Navy successfully carried out an anti-ship missile firing drill on Sunday, and in response to the Pahalgam attack, conducted a medium-range surface-to-air missile test from the indigenous INS Surat in the Arabian Sea.

The comments posted here/below/in the given space are not on behalf of Onmanorama. The person posting the comment will be in sole ownership of its responsibility. According to the central government's IT rules, obscene or offensive statement made against a person, religion, community or nation is a punishable offense, and legal action would be taken against people who indulge in such activities.