New Delhi [India]: In a move towards boosting its surveillance and fighting capabilities, the Indian Navy is looking towards concluding three major defence deals this financial year, including the 31 MQ-9B drone deal, 3 additional Scorpene submarines and the 26 Rafale-M fighter aircraft project.
The Indian Navy has also been provided full support by the government for its urgent modernisation requirements, as it has been provided the highest ever capital budget of Rs 61,000 crore this year.
Under the defence contracts, the government pays around 15 per cent in advance for the projects.
Senior defence officials told ANI that the first project, which is likely to be concluded at the earliest, is for the MQ-9B drones that are going to be fitted with anti-submarine warfare capabilities.
The validity of the American proposal is till October 31 this year as per the Letter of Acceptance sent by the US administration and project is likely to be completed before that, they said.
The Navy will get 15 of these drones, while the other two services will get eight each for their requirements.
The integration of the Indian weapon systems with the drones has also been agreed upon between the two sides. However, the Naval Anti-Ship Missile (Short Range) would be integrated with the drones when it is fully ready, they said.
The second project which is in priority is the deal for building three additional Scorpene submarines in collaboration with French Naval Group and Indian Mazagaon Dockyards Limited.
The deal is making progress, with MDL having submitted its revised bids for building the submarines at a cost of around Rs 40,000 crores.
The three boats will be equipped with more advanced capabilities than their six predecessors and will have an indigenous combat management system.
The sources said that Indian government companies like Bharat Electronics Limited will have a significant share in the Rs 40,000 crore project.
The third project that the Indian Navy would be looking to complete in 2024-25 fiscal is for buying 26 Rafale M marine fighter jets for the INS Vikrant aircraft carrier.
The two sides have already held two rounds of negotiations for finalising the project.
India recently removed the requirement for integrating the Uttam radar on the aircraft, as it would have been an expensive affair and also lead to a loss of time in doing so.
The deal is being done as per the last deal of buying 36 Rafale fighters for the Indian Air Force, with only the agreed rate of inflation being taken into account for detecting the price for the Rs 50,000 crore deal.
The Indian Navy is working towards upgrading its capabilities in surveillance as well as for underwater war fighting.