"Both sides also agreed to conclude an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) for supply of the aircraft. A negotiating team has been constituted to negotiate the terms and conditions of the procurement of 36 Rafale jets and recommend a draft agreement," the defense ministry said in a statement, quoting Parrikar.
According an earlier statement from Parrikar, the procured planes will have advanced features like Advanced Electronically Scanned Array radar, mid-air refueling and advanced electronic-warfare equipment.
The sides have finalized their agreement on details for weaponry and other modifications for the Rafale planes, while further details of the offset and cost of the aircraft are still being discussed.
According to Defense News, several companies, including Safran, MBDA and Thales, will join their efforts to provide state-of-art technologies in stealth, radar, thrust vectoring for missiles and materials for electronics and micro-electronics in time, as the schedule is expected to be tight: according to reports, 36 planes will be provided within 36 months after signing the contract.
India is also reportedly purchasing an unspecified number of Mica air-to-air missiles, SCALP air-to-ground missiles, Meteor beyond-visual-range missiles and precision-guided munitions for the 36 planes.
