At the end of almost a year and a half of tough negotiations between Paris and New Delhi, the green light from the government of Narendra Modi puts an end to this soap opera commercial long-term at the centre of relations between the two countries.
“The contract was approved at a meeting tonight. It will be formally signed by the French Defence minister and his indian counterpart on 23 September in New Delhi“, said an official of the ministry of Defence of india under the cover of anonymity to the AFP.
If neither the French authorities nor Dassault are expressed on this announcement, the Elysée palace has confirmed via press release the coming Friday in New Delhi Jean-Yves Le Drian.
After a difficult start to export, the Rafale had found a taker in 2015 in Qatar and Egypt. Each had acquired 24 aircraft.
The details of the voluminous agreement, including the price and the full range of weapons purchased, “will not be made public until after the signing ceremony“, said the responsible indian.
According to the agency Press Trust of India, India would have to pay the total of 7.9 billion euros for the contract.
- the Saga of the Rafale in India –
That agreement, however, remains modest by comparison with what had been described at the start of the “the contract of the century“.
The most populous democracy in the world, had originally launched a tender for 126 combat aircraft, for which it had entered into exclusive negotiations with Dassault in 2012.
But the order had never seen the light of day. New Delhi demanded in effect significant transfers of technologies, in order to boost its local industry, which would have created significant additional costs.
Came to power in 2014, in favor of political change, the new Prime minister of india had recognised the failure of negotiations and canceled the procedure.
on the occasion of a trip to Paris in April 2015, Narendra Modi had announced his government’s intention to buy 36 Rafale ready to fly, negotiated in the framework of an agreement at State level.
- Requests military –
the arrival of The fighter jets French should help relieve some of the indian army, which has long-standing insufficient equipment according to it to show the height of the geopolitical challenges of the region.
in Addition to the old enmity with neighbor pakistan since independence, India is facing the rise and assertion of China on the asian continent.
“This is a contract that should have been finalised much earlier. The Rafale beats all other combat aircraft in the region“, is excited about Manmohan Bahadur, a vice-marshal of the air force retired seal by the AFP.
the purchase of The Rafale will allow New Delhi to modernize its air fleet aging, to much made up of Russian aircraft end-of-life.
But this command does not address skill not fully the needs of its air force. In 2015, it had only 35 squadrons of 18 aircraft, when she felt the need to at least 42.
- A first step ‘ –
“The indian army has very heavy needs of modernization,” says Corentin Brustlein, head of security studies at the French Institute of international relations (IFRI).
“beyond the sale of these 36 (Burst), there is the prospect of a contract for a further dimension that would live Dassault for many more years“, he says.
in the past, executives of the aircraft manufacturer, have clearly expressed their wish that this agreement is only a first step, opening the door to new opportunities in India.
The arms export French had reached a record of € 16.9 billion in 2015, more than double the previous year, thanks to the first contracts for the sale of fighter Rafale abroad.
The contract is expected to give a boost to the trade between France and India. In 2014, the last year for which statistics were available, this amounted to 7.9 billion euros.
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