India’s MMRCA deal unravels

[Abingdonboy]

Just more BS, the deal goes on. Nothing has changed. The ACM said the price negotiations will take 6-8 months so lets wait and see, end of this year (maybe end of FY 2012-13) this deal is very likely to be signed. These ignorant b@$tarss stick their oar in for political reasons in technical grounds and do nothing but upset the process. Thankfully AK/MoD/IAF have a good head on their shoulders and continue to wade through the muck unhindered. The fact that the dumb a$$ put "patriotic reasons" as his justification just adds salt to the wounds as his actions are nothing of the sort and in fact could potentially hurt his country.


The fact that EADs has revised their bid and said they are waiting means ABSOUTLTY NOTHING as the MoD has said countless times they are not interested. Allowing at this stage an L2 vendor back into the race would not only be unprecedented and irregular but bordering on criminal and comely against EVERY defence procurment guideline the MoD has. All we are seeing now is vested interests rise to the surface, I'm sure the MoD/IAF were ready for this.

 

[kingdurgaking]

If this deal gets cancelled ... really it is the most sh*t thing that can happen to our armed forces.. so far nothing happened to Army now nothing is happening to Air force

 

[sancho]

Pre-election drama..
The deal is going to be delayed.. at worst to beyond 2014.

Pre-election drama indeed, but the deal will not be effected by that or the biased reports of a single newspaper. You just need to look at the MMRCA competition so far and it gets obvious, that politics never played a role in it. The aim from the start was on 2 points, once selecting the fighter that fulfills IAF requirements and secondly the one that offers the most in return to improve our industry. Both are fields where Rafale was a clear front runner and if we look at the milestones of the competition, like trials, shortlisting, final decision, none of them was much more delayed than what officials stated (hardly a month in all cases).
The only reason why this competition is regarded to be highly delayed is, the change of priorities between MRCA and MMRCA (the earlier was about a fast and easy fighter replacement, the latter about future capabilities and industrial advantages), it is just the media and the general public that looks at it and complain about the delays. When you look at it from IAF or Indian industries point of view instead, IAF got a fighter that clearly had way more future potential than then Mirage 2K-5 that were initially prefered. IAF might had lost 3 or 4 years, but Rafale will be useful for more then 20 years at least, while the Mirage would have been at the end of it's potential by the end of this decade.
Indian industry would have got very good 4th gen techs, but the benefit from ToT of AESA radar, a modern engine, even NG avionics is obviously much better, especially when you have such developments like LCA MK2, FGFA or AMCA in mind as well.

When the reports in the French media are correct (see MMRCA discussion thread), Indians are already in France and working with Dassault to work out the deal, while Dassault is increasing ties with Indian companies too. This deal is done, no matter how long the Brits will complain about it!

 

[Yaduveer]

Pre-election drama..
The deal is going to be delayed.. at worst to beyond 2014.

This is not holy cow like railway fare hike ... 'Aam Aadmi' of India do not mind if our defence minister choose F16 or F32( even it does not exist) or anything ... what matter most to 'aam aadmi' of india are roti , kapada aur makan .. that's it .

 

[Bhim]

Those I have faith in.. I consider them the best team in India for Pakistan..
What I dont have faith in is the Nehru Dynasty..
Their agenda is NOT India.. Its their kith and kin.
They will drop the deal to save face.. or make a couple more billion off it when they see no sign of a political recovery for themselves.

I hope its the BJP you talking about and not the CPI(Communist Party of India)?

 

[trinity]

I think it might be more than a politically motivated stunt. I remember during T90S tank procurement in 1999 H D Devagowda wrote to George Fernandes, saying T-72S is a superior tank to T90 tank! I believe the rival companies lure such politicians with money to make such hue and cry. I think the EADS, BAE etc may have lobbied with this guy to prompt such action.

YOu are on the money. When you cannot sway gov't, the next best thing to do especially in democracy is to bribe the local politicans. They are a dime a dozen. So, i would pay more attention where this guy flies off after retirement. More than the corporations, I think foreign gov;t are meddling as this would provide more jobs and opportunity for their countrymen.

 

[meghdut]

YOu are on the money. When you cannot sway gov't, the next best thing to do especially in democracy is to bribe the local politicans. They are a dime a dozen. So, i would pay more attention where this guy flies off after retirement. More than the corporations, I think foreign gov;t are meddling as this would provide more jobs and opportunity for their countrymen.

You are indeed right. Its our damned politicians, who look no further than their chairs and Swiss bank accounts who do such things. I was shocked during the T90 deal; a former prime minister! involved in such thing. But now a days its passe. The foreign govts are not to blame, they are just looking for welfare of their countrymen. Its us who is to blame.