The Indian Air Force (IAF) has received 114 new fighter jets, Rafale, which is a French aircraft, and the proposals on defence purchase have been approved by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) and are worth 3.60 lakh crores. The jets will be obtained under the Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA) programme in France by Dassault Aviation and a high number of jets will be produced in India to facilitate the production of the defence systems locally.
The DAC also gave Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) to the acquisition of high-tech combat missiles and Air-Ship Based High-Altitude Pseudo-Satellites (AS-HAPS) in addition to the Rafale jets. The IAF air dominance capabilities and long-range strike and deterrence power are expected to be greatly strengthened during the entire spectrum of conflict by the MRFA induction.
The combat missiles that will be approved will enhance stand-off ground attacks that will provide high precision and accuracy in deep strikes. In the meantime, AS-HAPS systems will be installed to support the Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), electronic intelligence collection, telecommunications, and remote sensors activities in the military.
The move also comes at the right time to the IAF whose number of fighter squadrons has dwindled to 29, which is far below the approved figure of 42 squadrons. Recent loss of the MiG-21 and the impending phase-out of other older fighters including early MiG-29 variants, the Jaguars and Mirage 2000s have further urgently increased the need to modernize the fleet.
The DAC also approved major proposals to the Army and Navy in addition to the Air Force upgrades. Vibhav anti-tank mines will be acquired by the Army and also there will be overhaul programmes that will be implemented on T-72 tanks, BMP-II vehicles, and Armoured Recovery Vehicles. The Navy will also be equipped with new Electric Power Generators based on Marine Gas Turbine 4 MW Electric power and more P8I long-range maritime reconnaissance aircrafts which will enhance the maritime surveillance and anti-submarine warfare.
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