French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian signed the agreement with his Indian counterpart, Manohar Parrikar, in New Delhi, ending nearly 18 months of wrangling over terms between New Delhi and manufacturer Dassault Aviation.
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Defence sources had earlier said that the deal comes with a saving of almost Euros 750 million than that during UPA government era, which was scrapped by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, besides a 50% offset clause. It is also expected to create business worth at least €3 billion for Indian companies.
The first of the Rafales, made by Dassault Aviation, will be delivered in three years and the last in 5½ years, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.
The sources have said India is looking at shortlisting one more aircraft, besides Tejas, to be manufactured domestically.
“The Rafale procurement is long overdue and will augment the IAF’s reduced fighter squadron strength”, said military analyst Air Marshal V K Bhatia (retired).
This deal will also represent PM Modi’s commitment to the country when he announced India’s intention to buy 36 Rafales directly from France in a government-to-government deal in April 2015.
Sources said along with the 36 French fighters, India-specific enhancements and modern air-to-air missiles will give India a clear edge in aerial combat over Pakistan. To bring down the cost, the Indian side asked French officials to calculate the deal on actual cost (Price as on today) plus European Inflation Indices. “India will pay around 15% (around Rs 9,000 crore) as the first instalment”, the Times of India quoted a source as saying.
Ministry of defence and Indian air force (IAF) officials claim to have beaten down the French by €750 million on the overall fighter contract price, negotiations for which began seriously in January after French president Francois Hollande’s Delhi trip.
A Dassault Rafale fighter aircraft takes part in a flying display during the opening of the 50th Paris Air Show at Le Bourget airport near Paris June 17, 2013.
Interestingly, the then Defence Minister A K Antony had put down on file a remark that the negotiating team must come back to him before finalising the contract, creating more confusion for the negotiators.
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India, which has in recent years become the world’s largest importer of weapons, depends on imports from countries like Russian Federation, the U.S., France and Israel for most of its arms requirements but placing orders usually takes years. The Meteor can hit farther and with greater effectiveness than missiles in the arsenal of Pakistani or Chinese air forces.
