Mother of all defence deals’ set for govt nod amid Rafale sp ..
NEW DELHI: The government is getting set to grant initial approval to the long-drawn acquisition project for 114 new fighter jets for over $20 billion (Rs 1.4 lakh crore), with a seventh contender flying into the competition amid the political dogfight between BJP and Congress over the Rs 59,000 crore contract for 36 French Rafale jets.
Defence ministry sources said the Defence Acquisitions Council, chaired by minister Nirmala Sitharaman, is likely to consider ‘acceptance of necessity (AoN)’ for the 114-jet project deal later this month or early next month.
Under the project, while the first 18 jets will come in a ‘flyaway condition’ in three to five years after the contract is inked, the rest will be produced in India under the new ‘strategic partnership (SP)’ policy in a joint venture between the selected foreign aviation major and its Indian partner.
Interestingly, the Russian Sukhoi-35 has joined the race for India’s ‘mother of all defence deals’ by submitting its bid to the preliminary tender or request for information issued by IAF in April. This comes after the first six contenders — F/A-18 and F-16 (US), Gripen-E (Sweden), MiG-35 (Russia), Eurofighter Typhoon and Rafale — sent their bids in early July.
But it will take at least four to five years for the actual contract to be inked with the selected foreign original equipment manufacturer (OEM)-Indian partner combine. It’s estimated each barebones fighter will cost around $100 million, with another $100 million for ‘add-ons’.
Though IAF would like the entire process fast-tracked, to be ready to tackle the “collusive threat” from China and Pakistan, the still untried SP model involves quite a complex process.
While an Indian company will be selected as the strategic partner, the OEM will be chosen in a separate but parallel process. “Once the AoN is granted to the 114-jet project, the seven contenders will be given three months to respond to the EoI (expression of interest) to take things forward,” said a source.
Amid all this, some MoD insiders contend it would make “far better economical and logistical sense” to simply go in for more Rafales through a government-to-government deal, after the first 36 jets arrive in the 2019-2022 timeframe, but it has become a hot potato in the current political scenario.
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‘Mother of all defence deals’ set for govt nod amid Rafale spat - Times of India
