By Ajit Dubey

New Delhi [India], September 12 (ANI): The Defence Ministry has received and started discussions on the proposal from the Indian Air Force for acquiring 114 'Made in India' Rafale fighter jets, which would be built by the French firm Dassault Aviation involving Indian aerospace firms.

The proposal, expected to be worth over Rs 2 lakh crore, including the indigenous content of more than 60 per cent, is expected to be taken up for discussion by the Defence Procurement Board headed by the Defence Secretary in the next few weeks.

The defence project, once completed, would be the biggest ever defence deal to have been signed by the Indian government.

'The Statement of Case (SoC) or the proposal for the 114 Rafale jets prepared by the Indian Air Force was received by the Defence Ministry a few days ago and is under consideration of the different wings under it, including Defence Finance. After deliberations, the proposal would then be moved to the DPB, followed by the Defence Acquisition Council, defence officials told ANI.

The biggest ever defence deal for the Rafales is expected to take the number of Rafale aircraft in the Indian defence forces' fleet to 176, as the Indian Air Force has already inducted 36 of them, and the Indian Navy has placed orders for 36 of them under government-to-government deals.

The move to take the proposal forward has come soon after the Rafale performed very well against Pakistan in Operation Sindoor, where it managed to comprehensively beat the Chinese PL-15 air-to-air missiles using its Spectra Electronic warfare suite.

The aircraft to be built in India are also likely to have longer-range air-to-ground missiles than the existing Scalp, which was used extensively to hit both military and terrorist targets inside Pakistan.

The indigenous content in the Made in India Rafale fighter jets is expected to be more than 60 per cent.

The French side is also planning to set up a Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul facility for the M-88 engines, which are used by Rafale jets in Hyderabad.

The French firm Dassault has already set up a firm to look after the maintenance of French-origin fighter jets. Indian aerospace firms such as Tata are also likely to be part of the manufacturing.

India has an urgent need to induct fighter jets to address the growing threat perception in the region.

The IAF's fighter jet force structure is expected to be primarily comprised of the Su-30 MKIs, Rafales, and indigenous fighter jet projects.

India has already ordered 180 LCA Mark1A jets and also has plans to induct the indigenous fifth-generation fighter in large numbers beyond 2035. (ANI)