The visit assumes significance for the sale of 26 Rafale aircraft for the Indian Navy
Chairman and CEO of Dassault Aviation and manufacturer of French Rafale fighter aircraft, Eric Trappier, accompanied by Richard Lavaud, head of military aircraft sales, will be in Delhi on Monday and Tuesday for senior-level meetings.
They are likely to meet senior officials in PMO, Defence Ministry, External Affairs Minister Jaishankar, NSA Ajit Doval, Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane, Adm R Hari Kumar, and Chief of Navy and Air Force Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari.
However, the base cost of the aircraft was close to Rs.800 crore, the rest being for India’s specific enhancements, training, simulators, and spares. Indian expectation is that 26 Naval aircraft should not cost more than Rs.20,000 crore or Euro 2.2 Bn. French projected cost is well above 3Bn or Rs.30,000 crore, a premium of 50 percent, which can’t be justified given more than 99 percent commonality between the air and naval versions.
This visit, coming after Prime Minister Modi’s visit to France in July this year where he was the chief guest for the Bastille Day Parade, assumes significance for the sale of 26 Rafale aircraft for the Indian Navy.
During the visit, discussions took place between PM Modi and French President Macron for the sale of these aircraft under a G to G agreement IAF had bought 36 aircraft as flyaways for Rs.60,000 crore, resulting in a per aircraft cost of Rs.1,600 crore.
[With Inputs from IANS]
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