Vendors have to provide aircrafts as per contract: IAF official
Senior IAF official who did not wanted to be named has told idrw.org that, any Vendor who will win the multi-billion dollar MMRCA deal will have to provide aircrafts as per the contract and IAF and HAL cannot be held responsible if the vendor is not able to clear any restriction from their respective governments on any of the technology that they have agreed for in the aircraft.
Official responded when he was asked if India will sign Communication Interoperability and Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA) with United States, if an American fighter is selected in the multi-billion dollar MMRCA deal, he also added that “MOD had asked and had taken advice from Indian air force on CISMOA and we have provided our suggestion on that”.
When asked if IAF will induct aircrafts if there are missing certain critical technologies like it happened with recently inducted C-130J, he responded “We all already looking out for using European and Indian devices which are missing in the aircraft (C-130J) and will source it soon but in terms of such a large number of aircrafts which will be purchased in MMRCA deal, we could ask original vendor to either provide the technology or source, test and certify it and only then deliver the aircrafts”
It seems that Indian air force have worked out a arrangement or a strategy if American fighters are selected by MOD, and have already provided their feedback on this matter, such agreement has been asked only by American government, this has put American fighters in a disadvantage position in the competition, since Indian government is not much serious in entering into such agreement with united states, which has the backing of its senior air force official .
Experts term it “classic case of who will blink first”, and India has the upper hand since it is the purchaser and with multiple vendor in the race from different countries ready to provide key Transfer of Technology, Americans either have to provide India with the technology without entering into such agreement or allow their fighter aircrafts to be fiddled with some other device manufactures, which Americans have not allowed to do to even their closest allies.
Boeing had failed to had clearance from us government and pentagon on providing consultancy service for India’s Tejas Program, this might have started alarm bells in Indian air force, officials from the air force when questioned on this matter in recently held Aero India, did agree that Americans will give them hard time in releasing TOT of key technologies like the radar which American vendors are tightlipped about.
One official also pointed out that it will be very difficult to base Russian (referring to FGFA and MKI) and American aircrafts in the same base if American crew comes to service radar and other components every now and then which will be not liked by Russia.
Vendors have to provide aircrafts as per contract: IAF official
Let me tell one thing very clearly ... I have worked on Su30MKI's forsignificant yearsto inform you that, You have no clue how proud the IAF is of this aircraft.... And trust me if it was commercially feasable they would like to have 400 of these...
