On Friday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said during his visit to Paris that India will buy 36 French Rafale jet fighters under “fly-away” condition.
"India has finally broken the ice over the deal which has been pending for the last 17 years. The deal is a great decision taken on the terms and conditions that are better," Parrikar added as quoted by CNN-IBN India-based channel.
Glimpses from today's ceremonial welcome in Paris. pic.twitter.com/DgEMrvLkQp
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) 10 апреля 2015
The minister said that further negotiations would be conducted in order to specify the price of the supply.
The multibillion dollar project has long been surrounded by uncertainty due to its high costs and Dassault’s unwillingness to guarantee the performance of Rafale aircraft produced in India under transfer of technology agreements.
Rafale fighter jet is a purely European project. It is the recent model of an aircraft manufactured without the help of the United States or any other country.