In a significant development, France’s Dassault Aviation has announced its decision to set up a maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) plant in Noida, Uttar Pradesh.
The plant will service all French-origin fighter jets currently in operation with the Indian Air Force (IAF).
The IAF operates about 50 Mirage-2000 single-engine multi-role fighter jets and 36 Rafale twin-engine fighter jets. This MRO plant will service both of these jets.
Additionally, the Indian Navy is about to sign a deal with Dassault to buy another 26 Rafale-Marine fighter jets, which will primarily be operated from the deck of the indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant. These jets can also be serviced at this MRO facility.
The plant will be established in one of the industrial sectors of Noida, Uttar Pradesh.
According to a report by ANI, Dassault officials told the IAF and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) about setting up this facility in Noida under a new Indian company, Dassault Aviation Maintenance Repair and Overhaul India (DAMROI).
“The French firm recently informed the Defence Ministry and the Indian Air Force about setting up a new Indian company, Dassault Aviation Maintenance Repair and Overhaul India (DAMROI), to provide maintenance, repair, and overhaul support for the French-origin fighter aircraft in India,” the report quoted Dassault officials as saying.
This facility will eventually expand its scope to service all types of French-origin aircraft in service with India.
This comes close on the heels of reports that say France is ready to provide support to India in its quest for the development of a 110 KN high-thrust jet engine for a 5th generation stealth aircraft, as well as nuclear attack submarines and unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV).
This includes a 100 per cent transfer of technology (ToT) for the jet engine, including its hot section, as well as training for Indians in advanced metallurgical technology.
All these will be on the table for discussion between the national security advisors (NSAs) of both countries — India’s NSA Ajit Doval and French President Emmanuel Macron’s diplomatic advisor Emmanuel Bonne — when Doval travels to Paris for the India-France strategic dialogue between 30 September and 1 October.