Thread: India rejects Dassault bid for MRCA

Originally Posted by jlvfr

Bought from the brits while they made planes, bought from the french at (almost) the same time, then politics shifted and went russian...

Don't know what gives you that impression. British and French planes continued to be bought by India throughout (Sea Harriers, Jaguars, Mirages for example).

Originally Posted by Tronic

Don't know what gives you that impression. British and French planes continued to be bought by India throughout (Sea Harriers, Jaguars, Mirages for example).

... then went back to Britain and France

My point is: shouldn't India try to rationalize it's sources? Does it really need all these diferent combat aircraft, most of which will fullfill the same roles?

Don't forget, almost every fighter today is multi-role. Viggen, SU-30, Rafale... all of them can do much more than one task, tanks to the magic of poded systems and compact electronics

Today's report suggest its been kicked out :

Rafale out of contest, diplomatic push by France

New Delhi:

Days after Dassault’s Rafale fighter was knocked off the $10-billion contract for providing combat aircraft for the Indian Air Force, French Ambassador Jérôme Bonnafont met senior Defence Ministry officials to enquire about the status of the deal.

It is learnt that the Ambassador met Defence Secretary Vijay Singh on Tuesday and talked about the Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) deal among other things. Sources said Bonnafont inquired about ‘media reports’ that talked about the oust of the French fighter from the mega deal.

The Ambassador is believed to have been informed that the selection process for the contract was still on and it would take a few weeks before proceeding to the next stage.

However, sources in the ministry maintain that the French fighter would not make it to the next stage as it has not met the technical requirements set in the tender that was floated in 2007.

The tedious process for purchasing the 126 fighters to boost dipping force levels of the Indian Air Force (IAF) will now proceed to the next stage of flight trials where the aircraft will be tested in difficult weather conditions. Trials are expected to take place in Bangalore, Jaisalmer and Leh.

The summer trials are set to start within three months and the remaining five contenders will be sent letters to bring in their aircraft for evaluation shortly.

The IAF is keen to conclude the contract as fast as possible given that its fighter levels had come down to an all time low of 32 squadrons against an official level of 39.5 and a ‘desired’ level of 42 squadrons. The most optimistic predictions too suggest the final signing of the contract not before 2011, which would mean that the first fighters would land in India by 2013.


http://www.indianexpress.com/news/ra...france/450268/

So... we can choose from:
-yes
-no
-maybe
-any other...