On February 12, India’s Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), accorded Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for various proposals worth a total of $40 billion including acquisition of six P-8I MPAs for the Navy and 114 Rafale fighters for the IAF.
AoNs were granted by the DAC for various projects of the triservices and Indian Coast Guard (ICG) with the net estimated value of about ₹3.60 lakh crore ($40 billion).
IAF is all set to add to its previous order of 36 Rafales in 2016. Under the Multi Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA) {Rafale} project, 114 Rafales are planned to be acquired with about 90 of those to be made in India. India will have the ability to integrate new systems to the aircraft to tackle obsolescence and to promote indigenisation. Last year, the Indian Navy had placed an order for 26 Rafale M carrier based fighters, with deliveries set to commence in 2029.
Scalp cruise missiles will also be bought for Rafales of IAF and the Navy. Most of the $40 billion is allocated towards the MRFA and associated weaponry. Integration of Indian weaponry with the Navy’s Rafale M is also expected to occur post delivery.
The DAC AoN kickstarts a long bureaucratic process that will ultimately end in a contract with Dassault Aviation. French President Emmanuel Macron is set to visit India from February 17 to 19. The Rafale deal is also expected to provide momentum for a vital collaboration between DRDO and Safran to develop a new engine with over 120 kN of thrust, primarily for India’s AMCA fifth generation fighter program.
The next big ticket item that received AoN was the Indian Navy’s long delayed requirement for six additional P-8I maritime patrol aircraft (MPA). These will add to the eight P-8I ordered in 2009 and four additional aircraft that were ordered in 2016. The FMS proposal was cleared by the US State Department in April 2021. The MPA is highly appreciated by the Navy, but the associated high cost of over $2.42 billion put the deal on the backburner. The current cost of the program is estimated to be over $3 billion.
India is set to field a substantial MPA fleet by the 2030s. In addition to the P-8I, the Navy will receive 15 MQ-9B SeaGuardian UAVs from 2029 under a deal signed in 2024 and nine Medium Range Maritime Reconnaissance (MRMR) aircraft based on the Airbus – Tata C-295. The ICG will also operate six Multi-Mission Maritime Aircraft (MMMA), also based on the C-295. Both forces also use the short range HAL Do-228 aircraft as well as various UAVs and helicopters.
On February 12, the MoD signed a ₹2312 crore ($257 million) deal with HAL for procuring eight additional Do-228 aircraft for the ICG. The DAC also granted AoN for the procurement of Electro-Optical/Infra-Red systems for ICG’s Do-228 aircraft.
For the Indian Navy, AoN was also cleared for 4 MW Marine Gas Turbine based Electric Power Generators. 55 of these generators will be made under the Make-1 scheme of India’s Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020. This project will minimise the dependency on foreign manufacturers. Larger 12 MW gas turbine systems are also required by the Navy alongside other powerplants and are at various stages of progress.
IAF will also look to acquire Air-Ship Based High Altitude Pseudo Satellite (AS-HAPS) for persistent ISR, Electronic Intelligence, telecommunication and remote sensing for military purposes. Such systems are being developed by DRDO and have potential naval applications as well.
