India has already Paid more than half of the Rs 59,000 crore owed to France under the contract inked in 2016 for the 36 Rafale fighter jets, which will be delivered between November 2019 and April 2022.

The 13 India-specific enhancements or upgrades on the 36 jets will, however, become fully operational only by September-October 2022 as they will require another six months to undergo “software certification” after all of them have touched down in India .

Defence ministry sources say “around Rs 34,000 crore” has been paid in “milestone-linked instalments”. “Another instalment of Rs 13,000 crore is to be made later this year,” said a source. The first 15% instalment was paid soon after the agreement was inked in September, 2016. Then, even as IAF positioned project management and advance training teams in France, other instalments linked to milestones, like completion of critical design review and documentation, were paid.

“The remaining instalments are linked to actual deliveries, with the final tranche to be paid in 2022,” said the source. Read more

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