Ditching Rafale

[Indian_Patriot]

As to the reliance on Russia is concerned can anyone tell me any western nation that would transfer advanced Nuke submarines, GSLV tech for the space programme, Supersonic cruise missile tech. The Russians have backed us to the hilt. We can trust them. They have backed us for the last 60 years.

 

[jha]

Parrikar made it clear that the IAF needed to look at the issue of fighter costs. He said, "It is not always… go and purchase it. A cost effective purchase is also important."

Declining to reveal the actual cost of buying the Rafale, Parrikar said, "Whether it is Rs 40,000 crore, or Rs 50,000 crore or Rs 1 lakh-crore, we are speaking about 50 per cent of the capital budget of the defence services."

Parrikar outlines alternatives to Rafale | Business Standard News

 

[CONNAN]

Indian Defence Secretary in France for Rafale Talks

NEW DELHI — Indian Defence Secretary Radha Krishna Mathur is in Paris Monday and Tuesday to help speed negotiations on the Medium Multirole Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) program, an Indian Defence Ministry source said. A senior official of state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) is accompanying Mathur, the official said.

In December, Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and visiting French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian agreed to fast-track the MMRCA negotiations for the purchase of 126 Dassault Aviation Rafale fighters for US $12 billion. That figure, originally estimated in 2007, is now put at about $20 billion, the MoD source added.

The contract negotiations are on track, the official said, but refused to specify when a deal could be finalized.

"Negotiations can be stretched in big ticket deals like the MMRCA deal," the official added.

Talks with Dassault began in 2012 after Rafale was down-selected as the preferred aircraft over the Eurofighter Typhoon. Issues relating to the cost of the 108 Rafales to be license-produced by HAL and French guarantees on the delivery schedule have delayed final agreement.

Under terms of purchase, the first 18 aircraft will come in fly-away condition while the remaining 108 will be manufactured under a technology transfer process. Out of the 108 aircraft to be license-produced in India, 74 would be single-seat and 34 twin-seat aircraft.

Even as HAL is finalizing the cost of the Indian-made Rafales, HAL is insisting that Dassault guarantee the delivery schedule because hundreds of spares and subsystems will be supplied by the French.

French officials have said they can assist HAL in the delivery schedule and help lower the cost of the Indian-made Rafales, but cannot give guarantees.

An Indian Air Force official said the MMRCA negotiations would have been finalized long ago if the Indian producer had been a private sector company rather than a state-owned entity.

Indian Defence Secretary in France for Rafale Talks

 

[Prajapati]

LOL. Parrikar is smart. He is using French weakness to dump the Rafale deal and blame them for the Deals failure

I am pretty certain now that the Rafale deal will not be signed. The good news is the LCA and AMCA will get a Fresh lease of life. ............ its a win-win for India. All Su-30 MKI will be upgraded and their MTBF will be increased, thus increasing their reliability and effectiveness.

Finally Common Sense wins.

 

[ashok321]

 

[Jana Assassin]

Hats off to defence minister Manohar Parrikar.... The LCA nd FGFA will get a fresh shot....Nice one minister