Prime Minister Narendra Modi has departed from India for an official visit to France and UAE this morning. He is visiting France at the official invitation of President Emmanuel Macron from July 13 to 14. A major defence acquisition pact and an exhaustive bilateral engagement are expected to be the most important highlight of the trip. PM Modi is expected to announce the purchase of an additional 26 Rafale jets for use on the INS Vikrant aircraft carrier. Besides, three Scorpene-class submarines, to be built in collaboration with France, are also slated to be finalized during this visit. In 2016, India had inked a deal to procure 36 Rafale fighter jets from france, all of which have since been delivered. All of those jets were procured for the Indian Air Force. This time the deal is to be finalised for 26 Rafale aircrafts meant for the Indian navy. The Rafale jets meant for the Navy and Air Force are different from each other. The naval version of the Rafale is designed to operate from aircraft carriers. So far, India's aircraft carriers INS Vikramaditya and Vikrant have been operating the MiG-29s and they need the Rafales for their operations.

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