MMRCA 2.0 - Updates and Discussions
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Jean Merchet is a well-known French journalist in the field of defence. Dirk Hoke is the CEO of Airbus defence
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jean-do merchet Verified account @jdomerchet[/USER] 12h12 hours ago
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Dirk Hoke (Airbus DS) : « Dassault did a good job with the Rafale ».
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The Rafale was tasked with destruction of a crashed coalition UAV to avoid its wreckage falling into the hands of so-called Islamic State or other insurgent groups. Based on the marking, the UAV was apparently an MQ-9 Reaper.
A new electric, unmanned ammunition loader emerges for the Rafale
Frédéric Lert, Bordeaux - Jane's International Defence Review
01 October 2018
Turgis et Gaillard Industrie’s SEFIAM 1602e is an electric and optionally manned ammunition loader. Source: Turgis et Gaillard Industrie
Turgis et Gaillard Industrie group presented its SEFIAM 1602e, a new electric and optionally manned ammunition loader that could work with the exported Dassault Rafale multirole fighter, at the ADS Show in Bordeaux.
Today the French forces largely use the diesel-powered SOVAM ammo loader. However, the SOVAM dates back to the early 1980s and does not fit well with the modern Rafale. When Dassault exports its jet, the SOVAM is not part of the sales package.
"There is therefore a real need for modern, simple, and easy-to-use equipment that can be offered to Rafale customers," argued Patrick Gaillard, general manager of Turgis et Gaillard.
The SEFIAM 1602e features an electric powertrain and the option of being remote controlled. Two packs of lithium ion batteries develop 36 kW and 10 hours of autonomy.
The SEFIAM 1602e can be used in a confined environment, weighs 1,500 kg (3,307 lbs) empty, and can drive up to 20 km/h (12 mph). It can load 1,500 kg and tow a 5-ton trailer.
The use of a remote control enables the technician to stay close to the pylon when guiding the loader. "Manoeuvres are faster and safer," Gaillard said.
A new electric, unmanned ammunition loader emerges for the Rafale | Jane's 360
Frédéric Lert, Bordeaux - Jane's International Defence Review
01 October 2018
Turgis et Gaillard Industrie’s SEFIAM 1602e is an electric and optionally manned ammunition loader. Source: Turgis et Gaillard Industrie
Turgis et Gaillard Industrie group presented its SEFIAM 1602e, a new electric and optionally manned ammunition loader that could work with the exported Dassault Rafale multirole fighter, at the ADS Show in Bordeaux.
Today the French forces largely use the diesel-powered SOVAM ammo loader. However, the SOVAM dates back to the early 1980s and does not fit well with the modern Rafale. When Dassault exports its jet, the SOVAM is not part of the sales package.
"There is therefore a real need for modern, simple, and easy-to-use equipment that can be offered to Rafale customers," argued Patrick Gaillard, general manager of Turgis et Gaillard.
The SEFIAM 1602e features an electric powertrain and the option of being remote controlled. Two packs of lithium ion batteries develop 36 kW and 10 hours of autonomy.
The SEFIAM 1602e can be used in a confined environment, weighs 1,500 kg (3,307 lbs) empty, and can drive up to 20 km/h (12 mph). It can load 1,500 kg and tow a 5-ton trailer.
The use of a remote control enables the technician to stay close to the pylon when guiding the loader. "Manoeuvres are faster and safer," Gaillard said.
A new electric, unmanned ammunition loader emerges for the Rafale | Jane's 360
So a Rafale takes down a crashed MQ drone and that is supposed to be a kill? Desperate !!!!!!
The Rafale was tasked with destruction of a crashed coalition UAV to avoid its wreckage falling into the hands of so-called Islamic State or other insurgent groups. Based on the marking, the UAV was apparently an MQ-9 Reaper.
Left Organisations To Hold Nationwide Protests On Rafale From October 22
Left Organisations To Hold Nationwide Protests On Rafale From October 22
Convenor of JEJA and CPI(M) lawmaker Hannan Mollah yesterday alleged that the multi-crore Rafale deal is the largest defence scam in the country.
All India | Press Trust of India | Updated: October 06, 2018 03:05 IST
The Opposition has been accusing massive irregularities in the Rafale deal. (File)
NEW DELHI:
More than 100 organisations affiliated to various Left parties will jointly launch a week-long nationwide protest from October 22 to "expose" the alleged scam in the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets from France.
Left Organisations To Hold Nationwide Protests On Rafale From October 22
Convenor of JEJA and CPI(M) lawmaker Hannan Mollah yesterday alleged that the multi-crore Rafale deal is the largest defence scam in the country.
All India | Press Trust of India | Updated: October 06, 2018 03:05 IST
The Opposition has been accusing massive irregularities in the Rafale deal. (File)
NEW DELHI:
More than 100 organisations affiliated to various Left parties will jointly launch a week-long nationwide protest from October 22 to "expose" the alleged scam in the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets from France.
Opposition to Rafale is against the national interest
It has marshalled its case a little too late to break the momentum of the Opposition’s campaign that serves party interests but not those of the nation.
ANALYSIS Updated: Oct 05, 2018 19:54 IST
Kanwal Sibal
The government has broadly indicated the cost of the Rafale contract, but divulging every detail to satisfy the expanding demands of the Opposition would compromise security as this would mean disclosing the overall capability of the aircraft(PTI)
If India’s foreign policy and defence interests, concerns about its image abroad, the maturity of political debate on a sensitive security issue, and plain common sense had been governing considerations, the debate over the Rafale deal would not have lost its moorings as it has.
Some facts are clear. With its depleting strength, the Indian Air Force has been clamouring for more combat aircraft for years. Dassault’s Rafale won the tender for the acquisition of 126 combat aircraft, with 18 aircraft to be supplied in a flyaway condition and the rest manufactured in India by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) with technology transfer. The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government could not finalise the contract because of various reasons widely reported then: life-cycle cost issues, Dassault’s refusal to guarantee the HAL-produced aircraft with respect to quality standards, timelines and cost.
Faced with this impasse, the re-tendering option would have delayed acquisition inordinately, without certainty that any foreign private company would guarantee and accept liabilities for HAL-manufactured aircraft. The other option was to avoid this vexatious issue and order a number of flyaway aircraft to meet the pressing need of the Indian Air Force. However, the second option without technology transfer would thwart the ‘Make in India’ goal. Raising the flyaway number from 18 to only 36 would have appeared a pragmatic compromise. In the past, too, we have ordered a limited number of aircraft to meet immediate requirements. However, for technology transfer and boosting domestic defence manufacturing, the offsets route has been used by involving the private sector and raising the offset requirement from 30% to 50%.
Involving a private company in the Rafale contract has not been a sudden initiative. The debate on involving the private sector in defence manufacturing has been current, with policies framed and fine tuned periodically. It is recognised that while HAL has capacities that no private sector company can match, it is saturated with work and is criticised for performance shortfalls. Additional capacity had to be in the form of a non-public sector unit. Most western defence industry is privately owned and as we buy defence equipment from them, procuring it from a private Indian company with a foreign partnership should not be a problem.
France, India’s defence partner since the 1950s, stood by us in 1998. Instead of scrapping the Rafale contract entirely, salvaging a part of it to meet our own priority needs as well as preserving our equation with our first strategic partner among western countries would have seemed a sensible foreign policy course to the Narendra Modi government. The Opposition, too, should see the larger picture as whoever holds power in India will be dealing with France.
In a competitive international market, no supplier wants to reveal the true cost of equipment and components sold to another country, and hence the confidentiality clause. The government has broadly indicated the cost of the Rafale contract, but divulging every detail to satisfy the expanding demands of the Opposition would compromise security as this would mean disclosing the overall capability of the aircraft such as the precise India-specific additions, the armaments fitted, the number of missiles and whether the Rafale is nuclear-capable.
The Opposition’s unrelenting campaign sullies India’s image, projecting it as a corruption-ridden country where no defence deal can be clean. Besides affecting future defence acquisitions, bureaucratic decision-making will become even more dilatory. The deepening controversy has forced the Air Chief, Vice-Chief and the Deputy Chief to publicly intervene to protect the Rafale contract from collapsing and setting a bad precedent. The offsets issue is calculated to sully Modi’s image rather than project facts. No company will be the sole beneficiary of offset contracts as almost 100 partners, including HAL and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), will benefit when Dassault officially communicates the list to the defence ministry.
Not a single Rafale has arrived, yet several thousand crore of benefits through yet-to-be-fulfilled offset obligations have been supposedly pocketed by an individual. If earlier, the Opposition’s use of a private conversation with a foreign leader to settle domestic political scores was breaching diplomatic norms, former French president François Hollande’s intrusion into domestic Indian politics through self-serving press comments has caused damage. Dassault’s intention to offer the naval version of Rafale to the Indian navy could come under a shadow with the current controversy. And now Pakistan has tried to enter the political game in India against Modi.
The government should not have allowed the controversy over Rafale to take the proportions it has. It has marshalled its case a little too late to break the momentum of the Opposition’s campaign that serves party interests but not those of the nation.
Kanwal Sibal is former foreign secretary
The views expressed are personal
Opposition to Rafale is against the national interest
It has marshalled its case a little too late to break the momentum of the Opposition’s campaign that serves party interests but not those of the nation.
ANALYSIS Updated: Oct 05, 2018 19:54 IST
The government has broadly indicated the cost of the Rafale contract, but divulging every detail to satisfy the expanding demands of the Opposition would compromise security as this would mean disclosing the overall capability of the aircraft(PTI)
If India’s foreign policy and defence interests, concerns about its image abroad, the maturity of political debate on a sensitive security issue, and plain common sense had been governing considerations, the debate over the Rafale deal would not have lost its moorings as it has.
Some facts are clear. With its depleting strength, the Indian Air Force has been clamouring for more combat aircraft for years. Dassault’s Rafale won the tender for the acquisition of 126 combat aircraft, with 18 aircraft to be supplied in a flyaway condition and the rest manufactured in India by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) with technology transfer. The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government could not finalise the contract because of various reasons widely reported then: life-cycle cost issues, Dassault’s refusal to guarantee the HAL-produced aircraft with respect to quality standards, timelines and cost.
Faced with this impasse, the re-tendering option would have delayed acquisition inordinately, without certainty that any foreign private company would guarantee and accept liabilities for HAL-manufactured aircraft. The other option was to avoid this vexatious issue and order a number of flyaway aircraft to meet the pressing need of the Indian Air Force. However, the second option without technology transfer would thwart the ‘Make in India’ goal. Raising the flyaway number from 18 to only 36 would have appeared a pragmatic compromise. In the past, too, we have ordered a limited number of aircraft to meet immediate requirements. However, for technology transfer and boosting domestic defence manufacturing, the offsets route has been used by involving the private sector and raising the offset requirement from 30% to 50%.
Involving a private company in the Rafale contract has not been a sudden initiative. The debate on involving the private sector in defence manufacturing has been current, with policies framed and fine tuned periodically. It is recognised that while HAL has capacities that no private sector company can match, it is saturated with work and is criticised for performance shortfalls. Additional capacity had to be in the form of a non-public sector unit. Most western defence industry is privately owned and as we buy defence equipment from them, procuring it from a private Indian company with a foreign partnership should not be a problem.
France, India’s defence partner since the 1950s, stood by us in 1998. Instead of scrapping the Rafale contract entirely, salvaging a part of it to meet our own priority needs as well as preserving our equation with our first strategic partner among western countries would have seemed a sensible foreign policy course to the Narendra Modi government. The Opposition, too, should see the larger picture as whoever holds power in India will be dealing with France.
In a competitive international market, no supplier wants to reveal the true cost of equipment and components sold to another country, and hence the confidentiality clause. The government has broadly indicated the cost of the Rafale contract, but divulging every detail to satisfy the expanding demands of the Opposition would compromise security as this would mean disclosing the overall capability of the aircraft such as the precise India-specific additions, the armaments fitted, the number of missiles and whether the Rafale is nuclear-capable.
The Opposition’s unrelenting campaign sullies India’s image, projecting it as a corruption-ridden country where no defence deal can be clean. Besides affecting future defence acquisitions, bureaucratic decision-making will become even more dilatory. The deepening controversy has forced the Air Chief, Vice-Chief and the Deputy Chief to publicly intervene to protect the Rafale contract from collapsing and setting a bad precedent. The offsets issue is calculated to sully Modi’s image rather than project facts. No company will be the sole beneficiary of offset contracts as almost 100 partners, including HAL and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), will benefit when Dassault officially communicates the list to the defence ministry.
Not a single Rafale has arrived, yet several thousand crore of benefits through yet-to-be-fulfilled offset obligations have been supposedly pocketed by an individual. If earlier, the Opposition’s use of a private conversation with a foreign leader to settle domestic political scores was breaching diplomatic norms, former French president François Hollande’s intrusion into domestic Indian politics through self-serving press comments has caused damage. Dassault’s intention to offer the naval version of Rafale to the Indian navy could come under a shadow with the current controversy. And now Pakistan has tried to enter the political game in India against Modi.
The government should not have allowed the controversy over Rafale to take the proportions it has. It has marshalled its case a little too late to break the momentum of the Opposition’s campaign that serves party interests but not those of the nation.
Kanwal Sibal is former foreign secretary
The views expressed are personal
Opposition to Rafale is against the national interest
@Picdelamirand-oil, this time its not Indians who are responsible for this fiasco but a combination of French and Europeans and US. DA had nearly walked off with another 200+ Rafale but for your stupid ex President and his partner who happens to be very close to the sisters of the Italian Waitress.
Congress to carry protest march today in Mumbai against Rafale scam
Congress to carry protest march today in Mumbai against Rafale scam
As a part of a national campaign against Rafale scam, Mumbai Congress along with MPCC has organised a massive protest on Thursday in Mumbai to expose the deep-rooted corruption existing in the BJP-led Modi government.
Congress party leader and general secretary in-charge of Maharashtra Mallikarjun Kharge will lead a protest march against Rafale scam in Mumbai on Thursday, demanding immediate resignations of PM Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
The protest will start from Mahalaxmi race course and will culminate historic August Kranti Maidan.
After the protest, the Congress delegation will meet Hon' Governor of Maharashtra, demanding the resignations of PM Modi and Sitharaman.
The Congress's another demand with regard to the Rafale Scam is to set up a joint parliamentary committee to investigate the whole matter.
Mumbai Congress President Sanjay Nirupam who has organised this protest march said, "This scam is a classic case of crony capitalism. PM Modi and Defence Minister Sitharaman have not only engaged in this scam but also have tried to cover it by providing misleading information about the entire deal. This is the biggest scam of the century. PM Modi and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharamanhave cheated the country and need to be removed from their respective posts with immediate effect."
Along with Mallikarjun Kharge and Sanjay Nirupam, Maharashtra Congress chief Ashok Chavan, Former Maharashtra CM Prithiviraj Chavan, leader of Opposition in Maharashtra assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, Former state unit chief Manikrao Thakre will participate in this rally.
On April 10, 2015, PM Narendra Modi had announced the procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets after having talks with the then French president François Hollande.
However, last week Hollande claimed that the government of India had suggested Reliance Defence as an offset partner for Dassault Aviation which was always refuted by the BJP government.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi had raised this issue exposing PM Modi and his government's corruption in the Rafale scam in which he stated that it is PM Modi who has brought Anil Ambani into this whole deal, side-lining public sector Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
The Modi-led BJP government had then said that bringing Anil Ambani in this whole deal was not their decision but a decision taken by Dassault. Recently, the then French president François Hollande contradicted India's stand and said that it was India which persuaded Dassault to take Anil Ambani's Reliance Defence as their partner.
Since then, it has become a huge embarrassment for the Modi government and the BJP. As a part of national campaign against Rafale scam, Mumbai Congress along with MPCC has organised this massive protest on Thursday (September 27) to expose the deep-rooted corruption existing in the BJP-led Modi government.
Congress to carry protest march today in Mumbai against Rafale scam
As a part of a national campaign against Rafale scam, Mumbai Congress along with MPCC has organised a massive protest on Thursday in Mumbai to expose the deep-rooted corruption existing in the BJP-led Modi government.
Congress party leader and general secretary in-charge of Maharashtra Mallikarjun Kharge will lead a protest march against Rafale scam in Mumbai on Thursday, demanding immediate resignations of PM Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
The protest will start from Mahalaxmi race course and will culminate historic August Kranti Maidan.
After the protest, the Congress delegation will meet Hon' Governor of Maharashtra, demanding the resignations of PM Modi and Sitharaman.
The Congress's another demand with regard to the Rafale Scam is to set up a joint parliamentary committee to investigate the whole matter.
Mumbai Congress President Sanjay Nirupam who has organised this protest march said, "This scam is a classic case of crony capitalism. PM Modi and Defence Minister Sitharaman have not only engaged in this scam but also have tried to cover it by providing misleading information about the entire deal. This is the biggest scam of the century. PM Modi and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharamanhave cheated the country and need to be removed from their respective posts with immediate effect."
Along with Mallikarjun Kharge and Sanjay Nirupam, Maharashtra Congress chief Ashok Chavan, Former Maharashtra CM Prithiviraj Chavan, leader of Opposition in Maharashtra assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, Former state unit chief Manikrao Thakre will participate in this rally.
On April 10, 2015, PM Narendra Modi had announced the procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets after having talks with the then French president François Hollande.
However, last week Hollande claimed that the government of India had suggested Reliance Defence as an offset partner for Dassault Aviation which was always refuted by the BJP government.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi had raised this issue exposing PM Modi and his government's corruption in the Rafale scam in which he stated that it is PM Modi who has brought Anil Ambani into this whole deal, side-lining public sector Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
The Modi-led BJP government had then said that bringing Anil Ambani in this whole deal was not their decision but a decision taken by Dassault. Recently, the then French president François Hollande contradicted India's stand and said that it was India which persuaded Dassault to take Anil Ambani's Reliance Defence as their partner.
Since then, it has become a huge embarrassment for the Modi government and the BJP. As a part of national campaign against Rafale scam, Mumbai Congress along with MPCC has organised this massive protest on Thursday (September 27) to expose the deep-rooted corruption existing in the BJP-led Modi government.
The decision to cancel the tender and just hand over the entire MMRCA requirement to Dassault is still on the table though. People are saying giving Dassault a contract for 90 jets is the cheapest option. Also, until RFP is released, all other options are available. But there's a very good chance Hollande killed that option now.
There will be a 3 squadron gap by 2022 even with the 36 Rafales, which will increase to 7 squadrons even with 2 new squadrons of Mk1A by 2024 (that's the max Mk1As we can have by then). So the IAF will have only 29 squadrons in 2022 and that will drop to 23 squadrons in 2024, with the exit of the Mig-21 and 27. With only 2 more squadrons of Mk1A possible by then, we will have 25 squadrons in 2026. So there is a good chance the IAF will become smaller than the PAF in 2024. And this is without counting attrition. This is ridiculous. The country is seriously f*cked. @Hellfire WTF?
We need LCA production to be increased to 24/year in the next 2 years. And by 2020 we need the govt to order 2 additional squadrons of MKI (delivery in 2023, 2024) and 4 squadrons of Rafale (2023, 24, 25, 26) inducted at a squadron a year each just to maintain 32 squadrons in 2026.
Never mind, I'm sure you can rely on the Russian-sourced S-400 for air superiority.
No more Rafales (because it has now become a political hot potato) and no moe MKIs .. just cannot fight the next war with 4th gen planes like Rafale and Su-30 MKI being spearhead.. Get something better.
To make up the numbers, just induct more MK1 that makes up the numbers.
36 Rafale are more than enough.
To make up the numbers, just induct more MK1 that makes up the numbers.
36 Rafale are more than enough.
When ex-president of the country who was in the know of what was happening during the deal, when he suggests there was nepotism in Rafale deal, how does one counter it? Would Modi still go and dare to order more Rafale and perhaps end the chances of BJP forming the govt for next 5 years?