The Indian Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) has finally approved the Rs112.5bn ($2.4bn) upgrade of the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) Mirage-2000 fighter fleet.
The CCS, chaired by the prime minister, approved the upgrade proposed by a consortium of French defence firms Dassault Aviation and Thales, and India’s Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL).
The upgrades on 51 fighter jets include advanced multimode doppler radar, modern glass cockpit, fully integrated electronic warfare suite and beyond visual range capabilities.
Dassault and Thales will upgrade two fighter fleets in France and two in India, while the remaining aircraft will be entirely upgraded by the Indian workforce at HAL.
A separate $700m proposal for mounting on the upgraded Mirage-2000 fighters will be approved at a later date.
