In another move, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to sign agreements for the purchase of 26 Rafale-Marine fighters for the INS Vikrant aircraft carrier and a repeat order for the construction of three more Scorpene (Kalveri) class submarines at Mazagon Dockyards Limited (MDL).This deal will be through the Make in India route during his two-day visit to France this week. This addition will add more power and support to the Indian Navy in the coming years.PM Modis upcoming France visitIndias PM Narendra Modi, who is scheduled to visit France on July 13 and 14, will attend the Bastille Day Parade as the guest of honour. It is anticipated that India and France will sign a defence-industrial deal to push India to scale up its manufacturing of hardware platforms through indigenously developed engines and technologies.On the agenda of Prime Minister Narendra Modis impending trip to Paris will be the full technology transfer for helicopter engines, the purchase of fighter jets for the Indian Navy, and the potential to expand the Scorpene submarine assembly line in India.Sources, also say that Indian Navy has expressed its preference for the French Rafale Marine over the F-18 super Hornets of the US. However, there is no clarity over the price.Union Minister Rajnath Singh calls for a meetingAccording to information from South Block, Rajnath Singh, the defence minister, has called a meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) on July 13 to approve the Indian Navys request to purchase 26 Rafale-M fighters and to approve the construction of three more Kalveri class submarines at the MDL. The final Kalveri class submarine, INS Vagsheer, which is now undergoing tests and trials, is scheduled to be commissioned next year.
