By Atul Chandra
Declaring Dassault Aviation’s Rafale as the lowest bidder (L-1), the ministry of defence selected the French fighter over Eurofighter Typhoon for Indian Air Force’s (IAF) requirement of 126 Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA). The final order could be worth as much as USD 15 billion and the first 18 Rafale’s are expected to arrive in India within 36 months of the contract being signed in fly-away condition. The remaining 108 will be made at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) under transfer of technology (ToT).
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Dassault Aviation's Rafale
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The order could not have come at a better time for the French aircraft industry which was gasping for want of orders with the very real threat of the Rafale production being curtailed or closed if an export order did not materialise soon. The selection of the Rafale is a setback for the Eurofighter Typhoon which was considered by many as the favourite to win the competition. Eurofighter has said that it will ‘now carefully analyse and evaluate this situation together with our European partner companies and their respective governments’. The Typhoon is a superb dog fighter but will achieve true multirole capability only by 2018, when laser guided Paveway IV bombs and the Storm Shadow cruise missiles will be available (UK National Audit Office).
The selection of the Rafale means that the IAF has decided to stick with French and Russian types for almost all of its fighter and strike aircraft requirements over the next three to four decades. It would not be beyond the realms of possibility for the IAF to select a downgraded strike version of Rafale to replace the Jaguars when they finally retire at the end of the coming decade! Rafale was designed to replace a number of diverse types in service with the French Air Force and navy. It was designed from the start to conduct air defence/air superiority roles, reconnaissance, close air support, precision strike/interdiction with both conventional as well as nuclear weapons. It will be the main combat type of the French armed forces till the year 2040.
In hindsight, perhaps, the selection of Rafale should not seem so surprising; after Russia, it is France that India has depended on for vital defence equipment. India was Dassault Aviation’s first export customer when orders for the ‘Ouragon’ (called ‘Toofani’ in IAF service) were placed in the early Fifties. HAL’s Bangalore complex is also the only facility in the world outside France that is permitted to undertake major inspection and overhaul of the Mirage 2000 fighter. This would mean that HAL is well-experienced and exposed to the techniques and processes used by Dassault. This would certainly help when the Rafale is produced in Bangalore.
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