A dogfight over Delhi | idrw.org
++
.
.
A dogfight over Delhi
Published February 8, 2012
SOURCE:-FINANCIAL TIMES
.
.
Sir Stephen Dalton, the UK's chief of air staff,
hurtled down the runway behind the controls of
a Russian-designed Sukhoi-30 at the Kalaikunda
air base in West Bengal. The deafening roar of the
engines of the mainstay of the Indian air force
swept over a small band of observers gathered
just over a year ago in the rising tropical heat.
Minutes later, a Royal Air Force Eurofighter
Typhoon built by a British, German, Italian and
Spanish consortium took to the skies as part of a
staged dogfight with India's French Mirages and
Russian aircraft, designed to impress officials
seeking to modernise an ageing fleet. Its near-
vertical take-off was met with awed admiration.
Within the sights of Sir Stephen, a veteran of the
first Gulf war – as well as his political masters and
hundreds of aerospace executives – was one of
the world's most sought-after jet fighter
contracts. London, Paris and Washington were all
vying to re-equip the world's largest democracy
with 126 fighters – about one-10th of the force –
seeing it as a chance to put a seal on a defining
bilateral relationship of the 21st century.
Worth up to $20bn, the deal to supply India –
with its fast-growing economy and geopolitical
status, and concern about the threat from
Pakistan to the north and China to the east –
offered a European defence establishment
suffering shrinking military budgets back home
the chance to reshape the industry landscape.
But the mock battle was the closest the Typhoon
came to the target. New Delhi last week chose
Dassault's Rafale over the Eurofighter at the end of
an eight-year competition. The significance of the
agreement is being compared to that of the UK's
record al-Yamama deal with Saudi Arabia, signed
in the 1980s. Optimists say it could be signed
within eight months, joining a $9.3bn agreement
for France to supply India with two nuclear plants
and another to build it a modern conventional
submarine fleet worth $4bn.
"This is a major win for France, and a major loss
for the UK "¦ French political backing has been
essential in strengthening the French bid and the
Rafale win is therefore also a major victory for
President Nicolas Sarkozy," says Endre Lunde, an
aerospace and defence consultant at IHS Jane's, a
defence consultancy.
Rafale's selection is a bitter disappointment for all
four nations in the consortium, and highlights
Indian doubts about a pan-European partnership
at a time of financial and political strain on the
continent.
It has a particular sting for David Cameron. The
UK prime minister identified the Indian market as
one of the most important for Britain's exporters
– but this opening gambit to his premiership has
shown scant return even though accompanied
by £1bn of aid in the next four years.
The decision also deals a blow to Mr Cameron's
attempt to style himself a champion of trade
missions led by the private sector – unlike
France's dirigiste approach – and of Britain's
dwindling manufacturing base.
Eurofighter's backers thought it the lead
contender, bringing more advanced technology
and strategic clout than the Rafale, which had not
been sold outside France. Their confidence soared
after US rivals – Boeing's F/A-18 Super Hornet
and Lockheed Martin's F-16 Super Viper – were
knocked out of the highly secretive medium
multi-role combat aircraft contest last year.
In London and Berlin, contractors salivated at the
idea of harnessing via industrial partnership a
greater share of India's $36bn annual defence
budget – one of the world's largest, and probably
a third of China's. A big European purchase
would shift India away from reliance on Russia
and show the US was not the only alternative as
Delhi sought to rearm itself in light of mounting
concerns about a more assertive Beijing.
The executives of the consortium partners were
convinced Eurofighter offered a superior so-called
"4th generation" aircraft suited to aerial combat
and able to strike targets on the ground. They
were also confident they had priced it
competitively, in spite of some analysts' claims
that the Rafale was up to 10 per cent cheaper.
.
. . . . , . . , for full article please go to above link