Procurement of 126 Rafale fighter jets from French firm Dassault Aviation is the top priority for Indian Air Force (IAF), Air Chief Marshal NAK Browne said yesterday.

Speaking to reporters at the Aero India 2013 show, which began on February 6 in Bangalore, Browne said that negotiations for the deal were going on track, and they expect the deal to be finalised by the mid of 2013.

Speaking on the topic, he added, "The deal for procuring 126 multirole combat aircraft is highest priority for us."

Last year, India had picked Dassault Aviation's Rafale combat aircraft over Britain's Eurofighter Typhoon in a $18 billion (around Rs 99,000cr) contract to equip the Indian Air Force with 126 advanced multirole fighter jets.

Browne also listed the procurement of 22 Apache attack helicopters, 15 Chinook helicopters and 6 C-130J Super Hercules aircrafts as the Indian Air force's other priority areas.

The chiefs of defence services had been asked by the Defence Ministry to list their priorities in terms of procurement of equipment in the government's budget-cut decision.

When asked about the role of certain firms in the aircraft deal, Browne said that the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) had full right to pick partners if it wanted to supply kits to the IAF. He also declared that the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) would be the lead integrator of the project.