Abingdonboy
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NEW DELHI: The government could ask France's Dassault Aviation to rope in an Indian partner to jointly manufacture the next batch of its Rafale fighters in the country as a condition for landing the remainder of the contract, a move it hopes will fulfil the 'Make in India' dimension that could not be met in its off-the-shelf purchase of 36 planes last week.
Sources familiar with the matter said there were initial discussions in the government on whether to press the French firm to sign up an Indian partner and form a joint venture company in which the local firm could own up to 51 per cent stake and this firm could execute the contract to supply the remaining planes.
However, the official announcement last week made no mention about what happens to the remaining planes, prompting speculation in some quarters whether the government could look at fresh competitive bidding. But sources said the thinking in South Block was that it did not make sense to buy planes from a new vendor as that would saddle the Air Force with a 'mix and match fleet' and having to operate multiple platforms, which was cumbersome and operationally inefficient. Besides a fresh competitive bidding scenario would take years, severely delaying the Indian Air Force's plans to raise its flying strength up to 42 fighter squadrons.
This will effectively rule out the possibility of fresh competitive bidding for the remaining contract, which was also indicated by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Monday when he said a government-to-government route was better to acquire strategic defence platforms rather than competitive, global bidding.
NUMBER COULD BE REVISITED
Sources said that while the original requirement of 126 fighters for the air force stands, this number could be revisited in the coming days after a reassessment. A higher number of planes could encourage the French side, which could otherwise have reservations on ceding the controlling stake in the Indian joint venture, to set up a production base for the jets. Such an approach could counter criticism that the new Rafale deal does not give much to India in terms of technology transfer and production capabilities. Going about the remainder of the contract though the joint venture route could give the Indian private sector a chance to partake of the government's defence spending and develop manufacturing expertise in an area that has largely been the preserve of staterun firms.
Make in India: Rafale deal may take off as a joint venture between French and Indian firm - The Economic Times
@Bang Galore @MilSpec @Gabriel92 @Guynextdoor2 @SR-91 @Koovie
@sancho this seems to fit with the new GoI's modus operandi- scrapping existing troubled RFP routes and launching new procurements aimed at giving them to private players (P-75I and LUH/RSH deals for example).
Anyway, let's see what happens, it looks like India is still pushing for the ToT and a lot more Rafales but now it will simply be pursued in a govt-govt dialogue and considering Dassualt had been pretty happy to join hands with Reliance (and very reluctant to do so with HAL) this move could actually see a lot of traction and likely success.
Sources familiar with the matter said there were initial discussions in the government on whether to press the French firm to sign up an Indian partner and form a joint venture company in which the local firm could own up to 51 per cent stake and this firm could execute the contract to supply the remaining planes.
However, the official announcement last week made no mention about what happens to the remaining planes, prompting speculation in some quarters whether the government could look at fresh competitive bidding. But sources said the thinking in South Block was that it did not make sense to buy planes from a new vendor as that would saddle the Air Force with a 'mix and match fleet' and having to operate multiple platforms, which was cumbersome and operationally inefficient. Besides a fresh competitive bidding scenario would take years, severely delaying the Indian Air Force's plans to raise its flying strength up to 42 fighter squadrons.
This will effectively rule out the possibility of fresh competitive bidding for the remaining contract, which was also indicated by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Monday when he said a government-to-government route was better to acquire strategic defence platforms rather than competitive, global bidding.
NUMBER COULD BE REVISITED
Sources said that while the original requirement of 126 fighters for the air force stands, this number could be revisited in the coming days after a reassessment. A higher number of planes could encourage the French side, which could otherwise have reservations on ceding the controlling stake in the Indian joint venture, to set up a production base for the jets. Such an approach could counter criticism that the new Rafale deal does not give much to India in terms of technology transfer and production capabilities. Going about the remainder of the contract though the joint venture route could give the Indian private sector a chance to partake of the government's defence spending and develop manufacturing expertise in an area that has largely been the preserve of staterun firms.
Make in India: Rafale deal may take off as a joint venture between French and Indian firm - The Economic Times
@Bang Galore @MilSpec @Gabriel92 @Guynextdoor2 @SR-91 @Koovie
@sancho this seems to fit with the new GoI's modus operandi- scrapping existing troubled RFP routes and launching new procurements aimed at giving them to private players (P-75I and LUH/RSH deals for example).
Anyway, let's see what happens, it looks like India is still pushing for the ToT and a lot more Rafales but now it will simply be pursued in a govt-govt dialogue and considering Dassualt had been pretty happy to join hands with Reliance (and very reluctant to do so with HAL) this move could actually see a lot of traction and likely success.
