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In the proposed deal for buying 114 Rafale fighter jets for the Indian Air Force, around 80 per cent of the combat aircraft are planned to be built in India.
The project would also see some of the manufacturing facilities getting shifted from France to India. The Indian side is also discussing with French officials for maximising the localised content in the deal with plans of setting up the Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility within India to maximise the serviceability of the planes, government sources told ANI. The sources said the two sides will negotiate the cost of the project further. The French price offer has taken into account the inflation rate increase in prices at around four per cent per annum. Sources said that with a large number of parts and systems of the Rafales to be built in India, there is also a possibility of the French Dassault Aviation using an Indian entity for export orders and offering Indian facilities as a hub for MRO for countries in the region operating the Rafale and other Dassault aircraft. Sources said in the present circumstances, the Rafale has been found to be the best suited to meet Indian Air Force requirements for fighter aircraft, as the serviceability is around 90 per cent, which is much higher than any other aircraft in the world, including the American F-35. The Indian Air Force has been pushing for the case to buy 114 Rafale fighter jets for a long time after it was selected in a multi-vendor tender. The Indian Air Force is grappling with the issue of depleting fighter aircraft squadrons and the indigenous project is also getting delayed due to issues with engines as well as integration of foreign-made equipment with the LCA Mark 1A aircraft. Already faced with two active fronts in Pakistan and China, Bangladesh is also fast becoming a security challenge. Amid this situation, the number of fighter aircraft squadrons required by the Indian Air Force is going beyond the long-accepted requirement of 42 squadrons. (ANI)
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