Eurofighter can step in if talks with Rafale fails: UK

[INDIAPOSITIVE]

UK today said the Europe-backed Eurofighter could hold negotiations with India for the supply 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) if the talks for the multi-billion dollar deal with French major Dassault Aviation do not make progress.

Making it clear that his country respects the "position the Indian government has adopted", visiting UK Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said, "Eurofighter has made it very clear that should the negotiations not progress with the French then we are ready to get into negotiations with the Indian government".

Speaking to reporters here, Fallon said UK was "ideally placed to contribute significantly" to India's defence sector.

His comments even though France voiced satisfaction yesterday over the ongoing negotiations for the finalisation of the MMRCA contract, saying it was moving in the "right direction".

French envoy to India Francois Richier had played down the delay in the finalisation of the much-delayed contract for the supply of Rafale fighter planes, saying that such "complex" issues does take time.

The French firm was selected in January 2012 by India for supplying 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft to the Indian Air Force.

The negotiations have lately slowed down over some issues, including the imposition of liquidity damages or penalties for any delays in the supply of the aircraft to be manufactured in the country.

India had selected the French Rafale combat aircraft after an over five-year process where five other firms manufacturing American F/A-18 and F-16, Russian MiG 35, European Eurofighter and Swedish Saab Gripen were also in the race.

However, the process of finalising the contract has been quite slow and still the role and responsibilities to be shared between the state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) and Dassault Aviation have not been fully agreed upon.

Out of the 126 aircraft to be manufactured for the IAF, 18 are proposed to be supplied directly by the French from their facilities in France whereas the remaining 108 are planned to be built in HAL facilities in Bangalore.

Eurofighter can step in if talks with Rafale fails: UK | Business Standard News

 

[Sankpal]

 

[Parul]

@Abingdonboy I have a question about it in my mind for couple of days. May I shoot?

 

[NKVD]

why sad man It shows Rafale deal in its final Steps

 

[Yeti]

This is good news as it will breed competition for the French to offer more and seal the deal!

 

[Abingdonboy]

@Abingdonboy I have a question about it in my mind for couple of days. May I shoot?

Sure.......

 

[Guynextdoor2]

This is good news as it will breed competition for the French to offer more and seal the deal!

There is nothing called a free lunch. ANy competitor (read UK) ready to come back with 'cheaper' deal will screw us later. They aren't doing a favor- this is business.

 

[Pichkari]

Even if the rafael deal dosen't come through,scrap mmrca but dont go for eurofighter.Just too much sirdard

 

[Iggy]

Should start parallel negotiation with Euro fighter to give pressure to Rafale if they think they can increase the price as they wish..

 

[Yeti]

There is nothing called a free lunch. ANy competitor (read UK) ready to come back with 'cheaper' deal will screw us later. They aren't doing a favor- this is business.

I know how tenders work and yes business is business but a 'contract' is a 'contract' as long as we unsure our key demands are met such as tech transfer, a key chunk of the contract value being reinvested in India etc it will be a win win deal. Of course companies will make a profit that is normal but if we get a good deal from the tender it will benefit us also.

 

[Guynextdoor2]

I know how tenders work and yes business is business but a 'contract' is a 'contract' as long as we unsure our key demands are met such as tech transfer, a key chunk of the contract value being reinvested in India etc it will be a win win deal. Of course companies will make a profit that is normal but if we get a good deal from the tender it will benefit us also.

Not necessary they need to honor anything written too. The Hawk deal is a prime example- prices kept ballooning after the deal was executed. I don't trust the brits also because a lot of brit political and public sentiments are invested in it. These jokers who are asking us to buy the planes because of 'special realtionship' might very well want to have a say whether we use them in the case of a war. No thanks. The French have no such strings, are very reliable suppliers and don't have an opinion on how we use the weapons we buy.

 

[Yeti]

Not necessary they need to honor anything written too. The Hawk deal is a prime example- prices kept ballooning after the deal was executed. I don't trust the brits also because a lot of brit political and public sentiments are invested in it. These jokers who are asking us to buy the planes because of 'special realtionship' might very well want to have a say whether we use them in the case of a war. No thanks. The French have no such strings, are very reliable suppliers and don't have an opinion on how we use the weapons we buy.

Prices ballooned because the contract tender was wrong and that was our fault, I work with tenders on a daily basis and time to time we witness similar problems. If we do not have a affective way of measuring on-going costs not just the acquisition of the fighter but maintenance,spares, inflation, currency fluctuation etc and have that stipulated in the contract who is to blame? only us because we did not do our homework.

It is also worth bearing in mind there is clauses on a breach of a contract and penalties that can be applied one good example was the Russian aircraft carrier we bought although India was well within it's right to fine Russia for political reasons it did not proceed. Now if there is a breach of the contract terms for the MRCA we could fine or penalise the party but none of us know what the terms and conditions are in the contract but I am sure this time around we have done our homework.

 

[Guynextdoor2]

Prices ballooned because the contract tender was wrong and that was our fault, I work with tenders on a daily basis and time to time we witness similar problems. If we do not have a affective way of measuring on-going costs not just the acquisition of the fighter but maintenance,spares, inflation, currency fluctuation etc and have that stipulated in the contract who is to blame? only us because we did not do our homework.

It is also worth bearing in mind there is clauses on a breach of a contract and penalties that can be applied one good example was the Russian aircraft carrier we bought although India was well within it's right to fine Russia for political reasons it did not proceed. Now if there is a breach of the contract terms for the MRCA we could fine or penalise the party but none of us know what the terms and conditions are in the contract but I am sure this time around we have done our homework.

Look, EFT was given several years and a fixed timeline to submit their 'cheapest' costs? If the price they gave was the cheapest then this new cheaper price is obviously after cutting corners. You don't wanna take a risk against a black box like that.

 

[Abingdonboy]

Guys, guys cool it. There is NOTHING new in this news, Micheal Fallon is on a visit to India and has to go through the motions of saying this. It doesn't indicate the are smelling blood with the Rafale deal facing issues, not at all. Until the Rafale deal is signed (it's imminent) every UK/German/Italian/Spanish member of government that interacts with Indian officials will be going through the same motions in the same way the French government officials do.

Should start parallel negotiation with Euro fighter to give pressure to Rafale if they think they can increase the price as they wish..

I don't know where this fallacy that the French are being sneaky and arbitrarily raising the cost of the Rafale at all has come from but it is utterly false.

 

[sancho]

This is good news as it will breed competition for the French to offer more and seal the deal!

That's not real news, since the statement is just a show of last hope, but they know their chances are low now. More interesting would had been, if our government would had shown any sign that they consider a change in the tender for re-evaluation, because without that the Rafale will remain the only current choice, unless they mess it up at any point. However, since the reports about the new EF offer no hint of a change in mind in GoI was visible, which might mean that the offer simply was not interesting enough to re-consider. But I hoped for an improved offer too, but not about lower costs and that's where the EF partners might made the mistake.