The Defence Procurement Board (DPB) has cleared the acquisition of Rafale M fighter jets and additional Scorpene class submarines for the Navy, ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Paris later this week.

In a meeting on Monday, the board has given a go-ahead to the two deals and an Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) is likely to be issued by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) on Thursday. The Prime Minister will hold bilateral talks in France on Friday where the two programs are likely to find mention as well.

Sources said that the acquisition of 26 Rafale M fighters will meet immediate and critical requirements of the Indian Navy for aircraft carrier-borne combat aircraft and will have an advantage of commonality with the 36 Rafale jets already in service with the Indian Navy.

While the signing of a formal deal will take time as techno-commercial negotiations will be carried out over the next few months, the contract is estimated to be valued at around E5.5 billion. The jets will be equipped to India-specific standards and will have several indigenous systems as well, including weapons. They will fill a vital gap in the Navy as the development of an indigenous carrier-borne fighter is currently underway but is expected to take at least a decade before fruition.

The DBP has also cleared the acquisition of three additional Scorpene submarines, extending the current line of boats being built at Mazagaon Dockyards Limited (MDL) These submarines will be more advanced versions of the current class of boats built by the yard – five have been delivered and the sixth is expected next year.

The three Super Scorpenes to be built will have indigenous Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) developed by DRDO and will have an indigenous content of close to 60%, resulting in significant technology transfer to MDL. Commercial negotiations will take place in the coming months and the deal is expected to be valued at around Euro 4 billion.