Germany lobbies India to buy Eurofighters, submarines

[Hindustani78]

Germany lobbies India to buy Eurofighters, submarines | Zee News
Last Updated: Wednesday, May 27, 2015 - 19:59

New Delhi: Germany`s defence minister held out the prospect of more talks on a possible sale of Eurofighter jets to India and, on a visit to New Delhi, said Berlin stood ready to back a multi-billion-dollar Indian submarine project.


Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has just marked his first year in office, cut through an impasse over a troubled tender for high-end combat jets by announcing a deal in France last month to buy 36 Rafales from Dassault .

India has since said the original tender, launched by the last government to acquire 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft, is all but dead, but rival jet makers are hoping the USD 14 billion tender will be reopened.

The Eurofighter, made by Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain, was knocked out in the final round of the tender by Rafale. But controversy over the lifetime cost of operating the French plane blocked a final deal.

"I again conveyed to the defence minister the interest of the Eurofighter nations in continuing talks, should the Indian side be interested," German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen said.

"That was was taken on board positively," she added, after meeting her counterpart, Manohar Parrikar, on Tuesday evening.

Germany has taken the lead in the sales pitch to India for the Eurofighter, made by Alenia Aermacchi, a subsidiary of Finmeccanica , Airbus Group and BAE Systems .

A spokesman for the Indian defence ministry said the focus now was on finalising the government-to-government deal for 36 ready-to-fly Rafales.

Von der Leyen said Berlin was also willing to support a project initiated by India last autumn to build six submarines at an estimated cost of 530 billion rupees ($8.3 billion).

In a first stage, local shipyards would have to prove their fitness to build the diesel-electric subs, before being invited to bid for the deal, possibly with foreign partners.

"There is an Indian interest in industrial cooperation in building submarines," von der Leyen said. "Talks are already under way and I made it clear that German industry is supported by the German government."

Initial talks on submarine cooperation were under way involving ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, a unit of ThyssenKrupp AG , German media reported.

Von der Leyen met Modi on Wednesday and said the two had touched on the issue of defence equipment, but the conversation focused on sharing knowledge on high-technology areas.

Reuters

 

[I_am_back]

Yeah ofcourse why not , if and only if it was available for free . There's no way in hell that India will even consider eurofighter now . I suppose its too late . Germany is embarrassing herself I'm afraid !

 

[Ankit Kumar 001]

Hi
I always knew that this Eurofighter issue would come up. But it's time they should know that with the commitment to buy initial batch of 36 Rafales other options are dead.
Cheers
Thanks

 

[Hindustani78]

Yeah ofcourse why not , if and only if it was available for free . There's no way in hell that India will even consider eurofighter now . I suppose its too late . Germany is embarrassing herself I'm afraid !

Government of India can consider Eurofighter after consulting with Indian Airforce and HAL.


April 15, 2012
Sanskar Shrivastava
According to the agreement, the company who wins the contract will have to provide 18 aircrafts from their manufacturing facilities within 3 years or 36 months. Rest of the aircrafts will be manufactured at home facilities within India by HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited) under license.

Also India may expect Rafale delivery sooner than Eurofighter Typhoon, since Rafale is not gone for export yet. Typhoon already has lots of pending orders from export and consortium customers. Some unconfirmed sources are also indicating that Rafale has offered India fourty fighters in fast track mode for early delivery.

PM Modi has visited A380 Assembly Line Facility in Toulouse on MAY 5 2015.

 

[xyxmt]

News is that Germany just borrowed the red carpet from France to host Modi...hehehe

 

[Hindustani78]

News is that Germany just borrowed the red carpet from France to host Modi...hehehe

Germany is pushing for Eurofighter even when the deal for Rafales was done.

 

[magudi]

News is that Germany just borrowed the red carpet from France to host Modi...hehehe

Germany already hosted Modi with red carpet hehehe

 

[xyxmt]

Germany already hosted Modi with red carpet hehehe

yeah but after hasty Rafael deal they think French red carpet were more comfy

 

[Hindustani78]

By PTI | 27 May, 2015, 06.16PM IST
Germany pitches for closer defence ties with India - The Economic Times

NEW DELHI: Germany today pitched for deepening its partnership with India, especially in the field of cyberspace, maritime cooperation in the Indian Ocean and defence production including that of submarines.

Visiting German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen, who met Prime Minister Narendra Modi this morning, said the issues at hand are hybrid warfare, trans-national terrorism, 'multi-national jihad' and cyber attacks.

"The list will certainly be extended as you know. These are issues which don't concern only a nation but are also global concerns," Leyen said addressing a talk, organised by think tank Observer Research Foundation.

Underlining that Germany and Europe are dependent on secure trade routes, access to markets and stable international order, she said Berlin wants "close dialogue with India as a partner".

"For example, the Indian Ocean, between the Suez Canal and the Strait of Malacca, is one the key highways of globalisation," she said, adding Indian Ocean is becoming more and more crucial for her country's security policy.

Asked about increasing Chinese pressure tactics in the area, she said if one looks at Indian Ocean and South China Sea, 40 per cent of the world's population lives there and approximately 50 per cent of international trade is going in that region.

"So there is a humongous interest of all nations worldwide, who are dependent on economic trade, to have an open sea... And, therefore, we have to very sensitive, and sensible too, about any attempts to dominate or close trade routres... The majority of nations are highly interested in keeping this region open. Of course this is in the interest of Germany too," she said.

The visiting Minister said there are many good reasons for India and Germany to work together in future. "I think our cooperation has greater potential... Together we would be able to make the world a better place to live in," she said.

She said there was a high interest on both sides to create a 'win-win situation'. She identified cyber security as a key area for cooperation.

Asked about the 'Make in India' initiative, she said Germany can collaborate on manufacturing of submarines, an issue which is understood to have come up for discussion during Leyen's meeting with Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar here last evening.

"You don't want only to buy but you want a close cooperation by manufacturing and producing parts in India too, which I think is a very smart approach for both sides as close cooperation between strategic partners should never be a one way cooperation or collaboration," she said.

 

[kashif memon]

News is that Germany just borrowed the red carpet from France to host Modi...hehehe

He was already there. Now what hehehe

 

[Hulk]

yeah but after hasty Rafael deal they think French red carpet were more comfy

Rafael deal was messed up primarily due to Dassault acting smart. People know that, OK.

 

[Hindustani78]

Germany still hopeful of selling Eurofighters to India - The Hindu


“I talked of Eurofighter and [HDW] submarines in my discussions with Mr. Parrikar,” Ms. Leyen told The Hindu on the sidelines of her talk organised by the Observer Research Foundation on Wednesday. This assumes importance as Mr. Parrikar had on several occasions indicated the possibility of procuring another fighter aircraft, in addition to the 36 Rafale jets and Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), to make up for the shortfall in fighter strength of the Air Force.

Germany is one of the contenders for the Navy’s new line of six submarines under Project-75I estimated at over Rs.50,000 crore to be built by an Indian shipyard under technology transfer. Asked about the ‘Make in India’ initiative, Ms. Leyen expressed willingness to collaborate on manufacturing of submarines.

‘Smart approach’
“You don’t want only to buy, but you want a close cooperation by manufacturing and producing parts in India too, which I think is a very smart approach for both sides as close cooperation between strategic partners should never be a one way cooperation or collaboration,” she said.

‘Natural partners’
Calling India and Germany “natural partners”, Ms. Leyen in her discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi had strongly pitched for deepening cooperation, particularly in the fields of cyberspace and maritime security.

On China’s increased assertions on the high seas, she said there was “humongous interest of all nations” dependent on economic trade to have an “open sea” and observed: “We have to [be] very sensitive, and sensible too, about any attempts to dominate or close trade routes…”

 

[Hindustani78]

Slow-moving fighter jet blocks Autobahn traffic - The Local
A damaged Eurofighter plane being pulled by a truck along the autobahn was so wide that it blocked three lanes of traffic on its way to being repaired in Bavaria on Thursday, drawing the ire of fellow drivers.


The plane was on its way to being repaired at an Airbus plant in Manching in Upper Bavaria.

According to an Airbus spokesperson, the fighter jet had been damaged in a collision with a civilian aircraft in June of last year that killed the two people in the other plane.

 

[kurup]

yet their people were still able to eat twice a day and crap in a toilet, thats the look good feeling but how would an Indian know

Well about those things .... atleast Indians will know it better than a Pakistani .

 

[Hindustani78]

German Minister of Defence, Dr (Ms) Ursula Von Der Leyen visit WNC : News & Events : Indian Navy

Dr (Ms) Ursula Von Der Leyen, Minister of Defence, Republic of Germany Visits Western Naval Command

Dr Ursula von der Leyen, Minister of Defence, Federal Republic of Germany, was received by Vice Admiral AR Karve, Chief of Staff, Western Naval Command

A 30 member delegation led by Dr (Ms) Ursula von der Leyen, Minister of Defence, Federal Republic of Germany, accompanied by Brig Tejbir Singh, Indian Military Attache to Germany visited Mumbai from 27 to 28 May 15.

Dr (Ms) Ursula von der Leyen interacted with senior officers of the Western Naval Command

During the visit Dr (MS) Ursula von der Leyen interacted with senior officers of the Western Naval Command. The delegation also visited some defence installations and Indian Navy’s largest indigenous guided missile destroyer INS Kolkata.

The delegation Indian Navy’s largest indigenous guided missile destroyer INS Kolkata


ADDITIONAL INFO ON INDO-GERMAN RELATIONS

India is one of the first countries to end the state of war with post-war Germany in 1951 and amongst the first countries to recognize the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG). The relationship, based on common values of democracy and rule of law has strengthened significantly in the 1990s following India’s economic liberalization and the end of Cold War. In the last decade, both political and economic interaction between and Germany has enhanced significantly. Today, Germany is amongst India’s most important partners both bilaterally and in the global context.

The course of the bilateral relationship was set by the two visits of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to Germany in 1956 and 1960. There are regular bilateral exchanges, including at the highest level. In recent years, there have been regular high level visits from both sides. PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee visited Germany in May 2003. Former PM Manmohan Singh visited Germany in 2006, 2010 and 2013. From German side, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder visited India in 2001 and 2004. Chancellor Angela Merkel visited India in 2007 and again in 2011 for the first Inter-governmental Consultations. German President Joachim Gauck paid a State visit to India in February 2014. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier visited India on September 7- 8, 2014.

India and Germany have a ‘strategic partnership’ since 2001, which has been further strengthened with two rounds of Intergovernmental Consultations (IGC) in New Delhi in May 2011, as well as in Berlin in April 2013. The next IGC is likely to take place in India in the second half of 2015. India will be the Partner Country in Hannover Messe-2015 in April 2015. The two countries have several institutionalized arrangements to discuss bilateral and global issues of interest viz. Strategic Dialogue, Foreign Office Consultations, Joint Commission on Industrial and Economic Cooperation, High Technology Partnership Group, High Defence Committee and Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism, Indo-German Consultative Group, etc. Germany and India cooperate closely on the issue of UN Security Council expansion within the framework of G-4. Both sides have regular consultation on foreign policy issues such as East Asia, Central Asia, UN issues, Disarmament & Non-proliferation, etc.

There have been regular interactions between Parliamentarians of the two countries. The Indo-German Parliamentary Group in the German Bundestag, established in 1971, has contributed to strengthening links between the two Parliaments. A 16-member India-Germany Parliamentary Friendship Group has been constituted in the 18th Bundestag under the Chairmanship of Mr Ralph Brinkhaus, an MP from the CDU.

In the field of defence, bilateral Defence Cooperation Agreement was signed in 2006 which provides a framework for annual consultations. High Defence Committee (HDC) meetings at the Defence Secretary level take place annually, alternately in New Delhi and Berlin. India was the Partner Country in ILA Berlin Air Show in 2008. State Secretary in the German Ministry of Defence Mr Wolfang Brauksiepe visited India to attend 7th HDC in New Delhi on July 9-10, 2014. Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R. K. Dhowan paid an official visit to Germany on July 7-10, 2014.