In a move towards boosting its surveillance and fighting capabilities, the Indian Navy is looking towards concluding three major defence deals
Indian Navy Looking To Conclude 3 Mega Deals
In a move towards boosting its surveillance and fighting capabilities, the Indian Navy is looking towards concluding three major defence deals this financial year, including the 31 MQ-9B drone deal, 3 additional Scorpene submarines and the 26 Rafale-M fighter aircraft project.
The Indian Navy has also been provided full support by the government for its urgent modernisation requirements, as it has been provided the highest ever capital budget of Rs 61,000 crore this year. Under the defence contracts, the government pays around 15 percent in advance for the projects. The Navy will get 15 of these drones, while the other two services will get eight each for their requirements.
The second project which is in priority is the deal for building three additional Scorpene submarines in collaboration with French Naval Group and Indian Mazagaon Dockyards Limited.
The deal is making progress, with MDL having submitted its revised bids for building the submarines at a cost of around Rs 40,000 crores. The sources said that Indian government companies like Bharat Electronics Limited will have a significant share in the Rs 40,000 crore project.
The third project that the Indian Navy would be looking to complete in 2024-25 fiscal is for buying 26 Rafale M marine fighter jets for the INS Vikrant aircraft carrier. India recently removed the requirement for integrating the Uttam radar on the aircraft, as it would have been an expensive affair and also lead to a loss of time in doing so.
The deal is being done as per the last deal of buying 36 Rafale fighters for the Indian Air Force, with only the agreed rate of inflation being taken into account for detecting the price for the Rs 50,000 crore deal.
