India has formally notified France of its decision to purchase 26 Rafale M deck fighters for its newest aircraft carrier INS Vikrant

Earlier this year, India had discussed with France to buy Rafale M fighter jets. As time passed, New Delhi made a formal enquiry.

Here's What We Know

Indian authorities have formally notified France of the decision to purchase 26 Rafale M fighter jets. The deck configuration of the aircraft will be deployed on India's newest aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, which was commissioned last year.

The Dassault Rafale has been competing with Boeing. The US company has offered India the fourth-generation F/A-18E/F Super Hornet deck-mounted fighter aircraft. Negotiations on the cost and other details of the contract will begin after India receives a response from the French Defence Ministry.

The Rafale M is equipped with a pair of turbojet engines with a total thrust of 15,000 kgf in afterburner mode. The deck plane has a maximum speed of Mach 1.8 (1,912 km/h) and a range of over 3,700 km with three conformal tanks.

The combat payload weight reaches 9.5 tonnes. The fighter can launch SCALP EG, Meteor and Exocet missiles. In addition, the Rafale M has a 30 mm cannon in its arsenal.

Source: Defence Aerospace