[Here is an excerpt from a forwarding note to an earlier post, "Outright Purchase" of 36 MMRCAs on Modi Visit to France: The Queer Aspects, (available at <>): Apart from that the decision to purchase outright 36 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircrafts (MMRCA) without bothering about the provision for technology transfer to the state-owned HAL simply makes a mockery of the "Make in India' slogan. This is apart from the cost aspect.
And, on top of that, we're told: "Holding that "nitty-gritties" are not worked out at the PM-level, he [i.e. the Defence Minister] said ***India and France would now hold discussions on the future course of action*** [emphasis added]" So all these talks about the "bold decision" and "outright purchase" are just a lot of hot air? End Now compare ""I have asked President (Francois Hollande) to supply 36 ready-to-fly Rafale jets to India," Modi said at a news conference on the first day of a state visit to France." (ref. an earlier report at sl. no. II below) with what is being told now with Modi's trip well over: "Though France has offered "better terms and conditions" for the 36 jets, the nitty-gritties of the proposed contract are yet to be worked out. "The actual contract inking may take some time," said a source." (ref. the report at sl. no. I below). That's the typical Modi style. ***This is, of course, not to claim that the "deal" will never come through (nor to, in any way, welcome the mindless craze to go in for more and more military hardware and trigger a chain reaction in the immediate neighbourhood). But to point out that a few loose ends remain to be tied up. So some uncertainties still prevail.***] I/II. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/French-defence-minister-expected-to-take-Rafale-deal-forward-soon/articleshow/47034795.cms French defence minister expected to take Rafale deal forward soon TNN | Apr 24, 2015, 07.53 AM IST NEW DELHI: French defence minister Jean-Yves Le Drian will soon be in India to take forward the proposed direct sale of 36 Rafale fighters as well as witness the joint Varuna naval combat exercise that kicked off in the Arabian Sea on Thursday. Defence ministry sources said Le Drian was "shortly" expected here to follow up on India's plan to go for direct purchase of 36 Rafales through a government-to-government deal, which was decided during the Modi-Hollande summit in Paris on April 10. ***Though France has offered "better terms and conditions" for the 36 jets, the nitty-gritties of the proposed contract are yet to be worked out. "The actual contract inking may take some time," said a source.*** [Emphasis added.] As reported by TOI earlier, the government is now scrapping the deadlocked $20 billion MMRCA (medium multi-role combat aircraft) project for 126 jets, in which Rafale had emerged the winner in January 2012 after a hotly-contested open global competition. Defence minister Manohar Parrikar said the acquisition of 126 Rafales would have been "financially a very steep slope to climb". Incidentally, French nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, which is now off the Goa coast for the Varuna exercise, is carrying its complement of Rafale fighters as well as strike aircraft Super Etendard, E2C Hawkeye AWACS and helicopters. While France has also deployed two destroyers, Chevalier Paul and Jean de Vienne, and tanker Meuse for the exercise, India is fielding aircraft carrier INS Viraat, destroyer INS Mumbai, stealth frigate INS Tarkash, guided-missile frigate INS Gomati, submarine INS Shankul and tanker INS Deepak, among others. "The scope of the exercise, from April 23 to May 2, includes the entire gamut of maritime operations from aircraft carrier operations, anti-submarine warfare drills to maritime interdiction and multi-ship replenishment," said an officer. II. http://in.reuters.com/article/2015/04/10/india-france-rafale-idINKBN0N10OL20150410 Business | Sat Apr 11, 2015 4:28am IST Related: TOP NEWS, BUSINESS India orders 36 French-made Rafale fighter jets - PM Modi PARIS | BY JOHN IRISH AND ELIZABETH PINEAU [Video] (Reuters) - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday he had ordered 36 "ready-to-fly" French-made Rafale fighter jets to modernise his country's ageing warplane fleet as neighbouring states upgraded their military hardware. Indian military officials have warned that their air force risks a major capability gap opening up with China and Pakistan without new western warplanes or if local defence contractors cannot produce what the military needs in a timely manner. ***"I have asked President (Francois Hollande) to supply 36 ready-to-fly Rafale jets to India," Modi said at a news conference on the first day of a state visit to France.*** [Emphasis added.] "Our civil servants will discuss (terms and conditions) in more detail and continue the negotiations," he said, speaking in Hindi through an interpreter. Video RELATED VIDEO Indian and French leaders enjoy a river cruise in Paris The deal, another boost for French manufacturer Dassault Aviation (AVMD.PA) after it sealed its long-awaited first export deal to Egypt in February, could be worth about 4 billion euros. President Hollande said Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian would travel to India soon to finalise the deal. India and France have already been in exclusive negotiations for three years. The value of a larger 126-plane deal being negotiated is estimated to have grown to about $20 billion from an initial $12 billion, primarily because of an Indian requirement that 108 of the jets be built in the country. A French defence ministry source said the deal announced on Friday was separate from the original negotiations and came about after new Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar indicated the country's urgent requirements. "We informed them we were ready to respond to their operational needs separate from the tender under discussion for three years," the source said. India's military has said it needs to start replacing its ageing jet fleet from 2017. "There was a real operational need because India needs combat jets because a certain number of countries have been equipping themselves, so there was a desire to speed up the process," Dassault Chief Executive Eric Trappier told Europe 1 radio. The country already has previous ties with Dassault, having bought Mirage 2000 fighter jets. In March, Dassault delivered two modernised Mirage jets to India. Analysts say Dassault's deal with Egypt may have helped break the logjam in negotiations with other customers, since they are now on notice that if they want to have Rafales they may have to wait for them. Since the Egypt deal, Dassault is in the "final stage" of negotiations to sell up to 36 Rafale warplanes to Qatar. It is also in talks aimed at supplying 16 of the multi-role combat jets to Malaysia and has resumed discussions over potential fighter sales to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the source said. Tensions in the Middle East, instability in eastern Europe and concerns in parts of Asia about regional border threats and the rise of China have further fuelled the arms race, but shifts and sudden reversals in the various industry talks are common. (Reporting by Leigh Thomas and Sophie Louet in Paris and Frank Jack Daniel, Rupam Jain Nair and Douglas Busvine in New Delhi; Editing by James Regan and Tom Heneghan) -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
