France offers to kick-start Kaveri engine for Tejas

Defence sources said the file on the purchase of 36 Rafale jets in a fly-away condition from France has been finalised and is likely to be put up before PM Narendra Modi soon. The estimated cost of the deal is 7.89 billion Euros and entails a 50 per cent offset clause.

Under the offset agreement, which was discussed last year, the French side has made a 30 per cent offset commitment for military aerospace research and development programmes and the rest 20 per cent for making components of Rafales here.

The offsets will be carried out by French companies Safran, Thales, MBDA and Dassault, all part of the Rafale project. As per the initial agreed points, the French have offered to provide stealth, radar and thrust vectoring for missiles technologies besides others to DRDO and domestic defence firms.

 “The French government has in-principle agreed on these points under the offset commitments. Once a final contract for 36 Rafale aircraft is signed, the French government will give subject wise clearance and concrete talks will start,” a defence source said.

The French have also agreed to collaborate on the Kaveri engine, which lacks the thrust needed to fly the Tejas. An upgraded Kaveri engine with 90 kN thrust compared to the existing 72 kN can be developed with French cooperation which can eventually be used for Tejas which currently uses an American engine.