Via Defense Aerospace: (bold sections my own words)
India to Sign Rafale Contract By June
PARIS --- French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian is to shortly travel to India to iron out the details of the direct sale of 36 Rafale fighters for the Indian Air Force, with a view to signing the contract during the Paris air show in mid-June.
Negotiations will continue in parallel for the local production of at least 108 Rafale in India, although it can no longer be assumed that state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) will be automatically involved [wait and see, in any case, not under MMRCA]. Dassault had originally planned to team with India's privately-owned Reliance group and, in the wake of the April 10 announcement of a direct purchase, HAL officials made remarkably
(or expectedly) lackadaisical statements to Indian media:
"We did not initiate any concrete step at the HAL for manufacturing the planes here", one HAL official told the India Tribune, adding that "After all, there was never much clarity on whether the deal with Rafale would be finally signed." The official also revealed that HAL had done remarkably little to prepare for Rafale production: "There was never any question of acquiring land or bring together a team for MMRCA", he said.
No doubt should remain in anyone's mind that these jokers should be tarred and feathered in the streets! Such a shocking attitude when the entire world sees your complete failure and despite being slapped in the face! Anyone still wonder why Dassault did not want to deal with these morons?
Given that Egypt, which has just ordered 24 Rafales, and India are both in a hurry to receive their aircraft, France will turn over to them its next 49 delivery slots, and will resume its own deliveries after 2019. Dassault currently builds Rafales at a rate of 11 a year, and needs about three years to double it.
Validates my earlier views that there will be no quick fix solution! Production ramp up takes a long time as supply chain has to be mobilized first
Indian Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar told reporters in New Delhi on Saturday that "It may take two to two-and-a-half years to get the first plane"¦"¦Fly-away means not tomorrow, it has to be designed as per India's need, plus there is a requirement of working out the price" which he also said would be about 4 billion euros.
As we noted on Friday, a direct purchase will resolve most of the bottlenecks that have blocked the MMRCA contract negotiations over the past three years, and which mostly focus on the price of the 108 Indian-made aircraft and on who would provide their contractual warranty. The fundamental problem, however, is that by codifying and closely regulating as many aspects of defense procurement as it could, India's previous government created a web of red tape so complex and so arcane that mutually-acceptable defense deals have become virtually impossible.
Another – and so far unsaid - factor is that HAL's work-force is not yet capable of assembling aircraft as advanced as Rafale, and the Indian government appears to have realized that it was insisting on an expensive and time-consuming industrial fantasy that it would probably be unable to implement in the short term. Finally, a direct purchase would elegantly sidestep thorny coproduction issues, give India fixed, firm prices guaranteed by the French government, and relieve the current pressure to conclude a license production agreement that suits neither side.
http://www.defense-aerospace.com/art...e-by-june.html
the article is junk.
How do you expect HAL to sunk in money knowing fully well, the scandalous MMRCA contract can never be signed by any govt that shudders at facing the massive irregularities accusations?
Even the 36 rafale buy is conditional on Dassault agreeing to modi's offer to french PM.
Unable to put up with fradulant negotiation tactics , the Modi govt has decided to scrap any form of direct negotiations with Dassault and restrict themselve to French govt which will be responsible for bringing around Dassault.
the one who received the biggest kick in the butt is Dassault, which lost out on the mother of all deals.
meanwhile all those import lobbyists who are crowing that HAL doest have the tech to will shut their mouth once Tejas mk2 and FGFa starts rolling out of HAL lines.
ISRO has already given the order to make cryogenic engines for their GSLV to HAL.
SO the real reason why modi scrapped MMRCA tender was the huge scam built into it by the previousIAF_ UPA regime which failed to shortlist,seal the TOT , price negotiations for the MMCA winner before Financial bids were to expire in 2012.
Now MMRCA backers are beating a slow retreat.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...-rafale-fighter-jets/articleshow/46913876.cms
MMRCA deal: Government may scrap $20 billion project for 126 Rafale fighter jets - The Economic Times
MMRCA deal: Government may scrap $20 billion project for 126 Rafale fighter jets - The Economic Times
"The government has bought time now," said Muthumanickam Matheswaran, a former Air Marshal in the Indian Air Force. Future purchases "could be that aircraft, or it could be another aircraft", he said.
GOI has not just bought time, it has closed down the scandal called MMRCA.
"That is an indication that the RFP that has been hanging for more than three years is finished," said Matheswaran, who advises Hindustan Aeronautics.
Read more at:
MMRCA deal: Government may scrap $20 billion project for 126 Rafale fighter jets - The Economic Times
matheswaran is one of the prime MMRCA backer and tejas killer. Govt hasn't bought time. It just threw the scandalous MMRCA contract out of the window and limit rafale buy to 36. because by 2020 I have no doubt that the Modi govt would bring FGFA on line. So there will be no rationale to induct rafale after that.
Bharat Karnad, a professor at the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi, told Reuters the Rafale deal was an "unmitigated disaster" that would not solve the needs of the air force, offers India nothing in the way of technology transfer and diverts funding from building an Indian-made fighter jet.
"If there was a critical requirement to make up fighter squadrons quickly, then there is no better way than putting an indent with the Russians for more Su-30MKIs," he said.
Obviously it would have been more prudent course of action which was initially hinted at by DM himself. but may be keeping strategic relationship with france played a part in this 36 rafale deal. And modi govt restricts itself to negotiating with french govt not Dassault anymore.
It proves their total lack of faith in MMRCA negotiations adapted by Dassault.
What is most important is if Dassault plays truant GOI is now free to negotiate with any other maker to buy even this now contracted 36 fighters with Dassault.
GOI saw through the all sham arguments put forward by dassault and just cut it off from negotiations is something true, that cannot be denied by anyone.
SO instead of mother of all deals now Dassault has the lolipop of all times in its hands in the form of 36 rafale order and GOI frees itself to induct what it feels right in IAF.
HAL is manufacturing tejas from the old Jaguar assebly lines of 1980s vintage. So why accuse it?
Even with this level of tech hal has turned out a dozen Tejas LSPs which have conducted close to 3000 flawless test flights.
Group captain Suneeth krishna who had close to 400 hours on IAf Mirage-2000 and chief award winning test pilot of tejas has categorically said that in its present configuration,"
tejas mk1 itself is equal or better than the 45 million dollar per plane upgraded mirage-2000, and can stand on its own in any theater of war.".
Ace IAF pilot late NTSE chief pervez KHokar has said that ,"
Instead of waiting for tejas mk2 , IAF can induct tejas mk1 in hundreds as it is better than mirage-2000 in key respects", a full four years before in 2011 itself.
present IAf chief raha has categorically declared that "
there is no doubt in tejas's fighting capability in IAF."
only planted news carrying DDM jour"analists" and retired "chair marshals " are telling packs of lies to discredit tejaa in various "vayu round table Fart Fests"
if the HAL was so bad why would russian airforce order 64 sets of mission computers , avionics and radar computers from HAL for their own Su-30 MKI version called Su-30 SM?
Infact the first HAL made Su-30 MKi went supersonic on first flight, which has significant composite body parts and will be far lighter and better than russain built Su-30 MKi itself.
it has been begging govt for funds to the tune of 1600 crore to invest in new assembly line with latest tech to make tejas better to the GOI and IAF for years , because investing that money upfront aone justify the meager profit from just 40 tejas mk1 confiremd orders by IAf if that was not possible , it is asking for higher orders for tejas mk1 from IAF to justify putting in its own money.. So far both remained deaf to its pleas.
ADA chief himself has said that this bad production tech has shaved off 6 percent aerodynamic efficiency on LSPs. And he has said that newer fighters made from brand new assembly line will have that additional 6 percent efficiency.
the reason no one was thinking of sparing money for tejas production tech was all the eyes were on for rafael. no prize for guessing the reason.
All HAL made ALHs are ferrying stuff to Siachen heights, (no other light helo in the world can do that in indian himalayn conditions.) without any fuss,
So instead of accusing HAL and expecting them to be ----
No doubt should remain in anyone's mind that these jokers should be tarred and feathered in the streets! Such a shocking attitude when the entire world sees your complete failure and despite being slapped in the face! Anyone still wonder why Dassault did not want to deal with these morons?
If the GOI focus on giving the much needed funds and resource in men power and infra to HAL and other local research and production firms along with big orders we can see wonders on the ground.
Sack full of missiles are made by indian producrion PSUs with active participation of private sector and inducted into indian armed forces without any fuss.
So no need to doubt HAL on production count.
.
