India rejects Dassault bid for MRCA

sohamsri · 04-16-2009, 08:50 AM

Quote:

NEW DELHI -- India has rejected an offer by France's Dassault Aviation SA to sell its Rafale fighter jets to the Indian Air Force, which is seeking to buy 126 combat aircraft in a deal estimated to be worth more than $10 billion, a senior defense ministry official said Thursday.

"We have canceled their bid," the official, who didn't want to be named, told Dow Jones Newswires. "There were some shortcomings," the official added, declining to elaborate.

The Rafale was in competition with Boeing's F/A-18, Lockheed Martin's F-16 Falcon, MIG-35 of Russian Aircraft Corp.'s MiG, Saab AB's JAS-39 Gripen and the Eurofighter Typhoon.

Dassault Aviation executives couldn't be reached immediately for comment.

The companies had placed their bids in April last year.

http://online.wsj.com/article/business.html

sohamsri · 04-16-2009, 08:52 AM

Can anyone confirm this ?
The Flight Evaluation Tests haven't even begun yet, how can they reject the bid ?

sohamsri · 04-16-2009, 09:16 AM

Another link :
http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssI...00273620090416

The reporters seems to have been informed by an Indian defence ministry spokesman.

I'm going to drink in sadness.

Robin Bingo · 04-16-2009, 09:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sohamsri

I'm going to drink in sadness.

were you cheering for the Rafale?..it was indeed a very good fighter and i expected it to give good competition to the other contenders but i really want the mig-35 to win the bid.

sohamsri · 04-16-2009, 09:52 AM

Indian Express can't get it wrong.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/fr...ighter/447745/

jlvfr · 04-16-2009, 10:45 AM

Quote:

"Rafale did not meet the usual requirement," the spokesman told Reuters.

Quote:

been rejected at the technical evaluation stage for failing to meet minimum performance requirements that had been detailed in the tender document

This is seriously seriously weird. What possible requirements could these be?!

No ofense, but I smell politics at work...

bolo121 · 04-16-2009, 10:51 AM

Actually i think they meant minimum bribe requirement.
Maybe they didn't splurge as much as the others on the defense ministry officials?

Robin Bingo · 04-16-2009, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bolo121

Actually i think they meant minimum bribe requirement.

Mohan · 04-16-2009, 11:00 AM

Guys there would be a genuine reason i think because this deal is closely watched by everybody I mean media and all. Lets wait and see

Steezy · 04-16-2009, 11:08 AM

Eurofighter Typhoon seems like the shiniest of the aircraft in that list. The F-18 (Super Hornet) seems to be abit old and is mainly carrier based. The F-16 and Gripen only has one engine. The Mig-35 isn't even real (yet), from a biased standpoint, the Typhoon would be the best bet

Not that I know much, but I'd say for the US entry they should've gone with the F-15 SE

jlvfr · 04-16-2009, 11:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steezy

The F-18 (Super Hornet) seems to be abit old and is mainly carrier based. The F-16 and Gripen only has one engine.

IMHO, the Rafale is superior to these planes in one or more areas, which is why I smell "politics".

And what is the Typhoon doing here? Isn't it a bit big for this program?

jackprince · 04-16-2009, 12:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jlvfr

And what is the Typhoon doing here? Isn't it a bit big for this program?

If you mean size-wise, it is smaller than Sh and Mig-35, both. If money wise, it is HUGE.

sohamsri · 04-16-2009, 13:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bolo121

Actually i think they meant minimum bribe requirement.
Maybe they didn't splurge as much as the others on the defense ministry officials?

On a serious note,
The IAF is more than happy with the Mirage, I wonder why they would suddenly discard its evolution.

outofshdw · 04-17-2009, 00:26 AM

According to the source that I read,

Though reasons for rejecting Rafale was not revealed, sources indicated that the high cost of the aircraft was one of the factors.

http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1248333

Let's face it, if the Indian Air Force wants to buy a fleet of 126 warplanes, they are going to need an affordable design. That means that the Typhoon will probably be the next to go.

We'll have to wait and see.

Kommunist · 04-17-2009, 00:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by outofshdw

According to the source that I read,

Though reasons for rejecting Rafale was not revealed, sources indicated that the high cost of the aircraft was one of the factors.

http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1248333

Let's face it, if the Indian Air Force wants to buy a fleet of 126 warplanes, they are going to need an affordable design. That means that the Typhoon will probably be the next to go.

We'll have to wait and see.

That is pure BS IMO, cos if cost was a factor, EF would not be in the bidders list

Quote:

EF 2000 - GB£68.9mil/€77.7mil/US$102.532mil
Rafale C - €64 million/US$82.3mil

I have doubts regarding the credibility and bias of the source

04-16-2009, 10:51 AM	#7 (permalink)
bolo121 Armchair Worrier *Senior Contributor* Join Date: 12-19-07 Location: india Posts: 1,549 Country:	Actually i think they meant minimum bribe requirement. Maybe they didn't splurge as much as the others on the defense ministry officials? __________________ For Gallifrey! For Victory! For the end of time itself!!

04-16-2009, 11:00 AM	#9 (permalink)
Mohan Contributor Join Date: 06-04-08 Location: Vancouver Canada Posts: 357 Country:	Guys there would be a genuine reason i think because this deal is closely watched by everybody I mean media and all. Lets wait and see __________________ It is so. It cant be otherwise

04-16-2009, 11:08 AM	#10 (permalink)
Steezy Contributor Join Date: 12-03-06 Location: London, England Posts: 309 Country:	Eurofighter Typhoon seems like the shiniest of the aircraft in that list. The F-18 (Super Hornet) seems to be abit old and is mainly carrier based. The F-16 and Gripen only has one engine. The Mig-35 isn't even real (yet), from a biased standpoint, the Typhoon would be the best bet Not that I know much, but I'd say for the US entry they should've gone with the F-15 SE Last edited by Steezy; 04-16-2009 at 11:10 AM..

04-17-2009, 00:26 AM	#14 (permalink)
outofshdw Regular Join Date: 06-03-06 Posts: 81	It Came Down to Cost According to the source that I read, Though reasons for rejecting Rafale was not revealed, sources indicated that the high cost of the aircraft was one of the factors. http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1248333 Let's face it, if the Indian Air Force wants to buy a fleet of 126 warplanes, they are going to need an affordable design. That means that the Typhoon will probably be the next to go. We'll have to wait and see.

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04-16-2009, 08:52 AM	#2 (permalink)
sohamsri All new *Senior Contributor* Join Date: 02-26-08 Location: New Delhi Posts: 1,347 Country:	Can anyone confirm this ? The Flight Evaluation Tests haven't even begun yet, how can they reject the bid ?

04-16-2009, 09:16 AM	#3 (permalink)
sohamsri All new *Senior Contributor* Join Date: 02-26-08 Location: New Delhi Posts: 1,347 Country:	Another link : http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssI...00273620090416 The reporters seems to have been informed by an Indian defence ministry spokesman. I'm going to drink in sadness.

04-16-2009, 09:52 AM	#5 (permalink)
sohamsri All new *Senior Contributor* Join Date: 02-26-08 Location: New Delhi Posts: 1,347 Country:	Indian Express can't get it wrong. http://www.indianexpress.com/news/fr...ighter/447745/

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