France assures timely delivery of Rafale aircraft to India

New Delhi:France reaffirmed its commitment to ensure timely delivery of Rafale fighter aircraft despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a telephonic conversation, French Minister of Armed Forces Florence Parly assured Defence Minister Rajnath Singh of timely delivery of multi-role fighter jets.

Four Rafale jets are currently under production at the Dassault Aviation's Bordeaux-M?rignac production facility in France while four others are under trials.

According to the contract, 11 of the total 36 Rafale jets under the deal are to be delivered on an annual basis. The first four jets were formally handed over to India in October 2019. These aircraft will arrive in India in May.

They also discussed matters of mutual concern including COVID-19 situation, regional security and agreed to strengthen the Bilateral Defence Cooperation between India and France, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement.

Mr Singh welcomed French Chairmanship of Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) from 2020 to 2022.The two Ministers agreed to work together to fulfil the India-France Joint Strategic Vision on the Indian Ocean Region of 2018.(UNI)