Indian Navy Looking To Buy Scalp Long Range Cruise Missile For Rafale-M Fighters; Negotiations Underway

Indian Navy is looking to buy Scalp long-range cruise missile as part of the weapons package for the 26 Rafale-Ms being bought for the indigenous aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant, reported the Economic Times.

This comes four months (July), after France offered local production of submarine-launched Naval Scalp missiles, for the three additional Scorpene submarines that the navy is buying from France.

Just last month (28 October), India submitted a letter of request (LoR) to French government to buy 26 Rafale-M fighter for INS Vikrant.

These missiles will give the navy a significant capability boost compared to the Mig-29K, KH-31 combination. Scalp missiles have a strike range of more than 300 kilometres.

Scalp missiles have also demonstrated their effectiveness in various wars, with the most recent being the Ukraine-Russia war, where the French supplied missiles were successfully able to destroy a ship and a submarine docked at a naval station and Russian Navy's Black Sea Fleet headquarters.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) already operates Scalp missiles, bought with the thirty-six Rafale fighters acquired in 2016.

While the IAF Rafales can carry two Scalp missiles, its naval variant, the Rafale-M, can carry only one Scalp missile.

Scalp missiles are stealth long-range fire and forget missiles which carries a warhead of 450 kg, that can destroy heavily defended, high-value enemy targets like command and control centres, ammunition depots, petroleum, oil and lubricants (POL) dumps and bunkers.

The submarine-launched variant has a strike range of close to 1,000 kilometres.

Also Read: India May Locally Manufacture French Naval 'Scalp' Cruise Missile For Navy's Scorpene Submarines: Report