RAS question
How many Rafale fighter jets were ordered by India from France under the 2016 deal?
Correct answer: (B) 36.
India ordered 36 Rafale fighter jets from France under the September 2016 inter-governmental agreement.
Explanation
India's 2016 Rafale deal was not the older 126-aircraft MMRCA proposal; it was a separate inter-governmental agreement signed on 23 September 2016 between the Government of India and the French Republic for 36 Rafale aircraft. The PIB release specifies that the procurement included weapons, long-term maintenance support, simulators, 10 years of annual maintenance and associated equipment. India contracted for 36 Dassault Aviation Rafale omnirole fighter jets, later stationed at Ambala with No. 17 Squadron "Golden Arrows" and at Hashimara with No. 101 Squadron "Falcons of Chamb". The deal value is given as approximately Rs 59,000 crore.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) 18 refers to only half of the final 36-aircraft procurement and also echoes the direct fly-away component in the older MMRCA proposal, not the 2016 deal quantity.
- (C) 72 was not the contracted number in the 2016 Rafale agreement; the PIB release states that 36 aircraft were being procured.
- (D) 126 belonged to the earlier MMRCA proposal, under which 18 aircraft were to come directly and 108 were to be licence-manufactured in India, but the final 2016 Rafale agreement was for 36 aircraft.
Concept
This tests defence procurement and India-France strategic cooperation under Science and Technology/current affairs. RAS repeats such facts because major defence deals combine technology, security policy and factual chronology.