The Ministry of Defence (MoD) in 2023 had given the go-ahead for the procurement of the Rafale-M jets from France to fill the pressing need of aircraft carrier onboard deployment, primarily of INS Vikrant. India Navy at present operates the Russian origin MiG-29K. The Indigenous project LCA Navy is in its development phase.It was in July 2023 that the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh approved two proposals including that of acquiring 26 Rafale-M combat fighters and also manufacturing of three new submarines in India.As per procedure, it is the DAC that grants the Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) which sets the procedure for acquisition. The Defence Acquisition Council is the highest decision-making body on issues related to policy and capital procurement and is chaired by the Defence Minister.As far as Scorpene class submarines are concerned, the new project is for the indigenous construction of three more submarines. Under the earlier project, the Indian Navy already has six of these submarines in service.What went in favour towards these maritime fighters is that the Indian Air Force has already acquired 36 Rafale fighters. The commonality of the fleet and the resultant savings on training, repairs and maintenance have reportedly tilted the scale in favour of Dassault’s Rafale M. The two aircraft’s versions have over 80 per cent common features.The CCS is the highest decision making body of the Government which debates, discusses and green signals the appointments, policy changes and procurements having national security significance. The members of the CCS include Prime Minister, Minister of Defence, Minister of Home Affairs, Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs and Minister of External Affairs.
Source link
