Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, along with a team of senior officials, is scheduled to travel to France for receiving the first aircraft in a ceremony. India has signed a multi-billion dollar deal with France and Dassault Aviation for procuring 36 Rafale fighter jets for the Indian Air Force (IAF).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and France President Macron recently held bilateral talks in Paris, and then again met in Biarritz during the G-7 summit.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is leaving for France on Thursday on a bilateral visit during which further boosting of defence cooperation between the two countries will be discussed.
Rafale fighter jets, manufactured by France-based Dassault Aviation, are twin-engine multi-role fighter aircraft. These are nuclear capable and can engage in both air-to-air and air-to-ground attacks.
The IAF team is based in Paris in connection with the procurement of 36 Rafale fighter planes, the first of which is expected to be delivered to India in September this year.
The Centre has told the Supreme Court that "categorical and emphatic" findings recorded by the top court in its December 14 last year verdict in the Rafale deal case has no apparent error warranting its review.
The Supreme Court will hear on February 26 the two petitions seeking review of its December 14 verdict that had dismissed pleas challenging the deal between India and France for procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets.
Rafale combat aircraft performs at the Aero India 2019 in Bengaluru
Addressing a press conference here after meeting Congress President Rahul Gandhi over the issue, the employees accused Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman of "attempting to build a false narrative" that HAL is incapable of building the Rafale fighter jet.
The opposition led by the Congress has been accusing the government of benefitting Anil Ambani's Reliance Defence Ltd from the Rafale deal. The BJP has dismissed all the allegations as false.
The government-to-government deal for 36 Rafale aircrafts was announced by Modi during his visit to Paris in April 2015. The proposal for the earlier 126 Rafale jets during the UPA's regime was scrapped.
The delivery of the jets -- capable of carrying a range of potent weapons and missiles -- is scheduled to begin from September next year.
Only the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) can decide on the number of aircraft and weaponry required, Antony said and added that Modi's announcement in 2015 to procure only 36 jets was a "grave violation" of the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP).
The defence minister was asked whether the government will engage with opposition parties the way the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2005 had taken the Opposition into confidence and addressed their apprehensions to pave way for finalising the nuclear deal with the US.
"It is a beautiful aircraft..It is a very capable aircraft and we are waiting to fly it," Air Marshal S B Deo said.
Jakhar also waived a paper replica of the fighter aircraft during the Zero Hour as Congress members were in the Well raising slogans on the issue.
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