The full break-up costs of Rafale aircraft deal between India and France is rarely known. Click here to know more about the deal
The requirements of Indian aircraft cannot be met with “Make in India Initiative”.
What is the ongoing issue with Rafale deal?
The price being paid by India for 36 Rafales is not out of line with other contracts for the fighter aircraft.
According to Union government’s data, Indian Air Force is getting the Rafales at a lower cost than being paid for by both Egypt and Qatar.
This is also lower than the price for the French air force, if the fighter aircraft’sdevelopment costs are included.
The defence minister has gone back on her undertaking to place detailed figures in the public domain.
What are the challenges in procurement?
The real problem with the decision to buy just 36 Rafales (two squadrons), as against the originally proposed 126, is that it does little to alleviate the air force'sdepleted squadron strength.
If additional Rafales are to be acquired, in order to add more squadrons and bring that fighter’snumbers up to a level that justifies the expenditure on its support infrastructure.
Fresh negotiations would be needed since the contract for 36 Rafales has no “options clause” for buying more aircraft at thesame price.
In those circumstances, the IAF has gone back to the 2007 starting point with the initiation of a brand new acquisition programme for single-engine fighters to replace the MiG fleet.
Evidently, the production rate for the home-grown Tejas fighters (123 of which are on order) will be too slow to meet all air force requirements.
