Posted on 01/17/2013 5:11:38 AM PST by sukhoi-30mki
India may buy up to 189 French Rafale combat jets
PARIS — India could buy up to 189 of the Rafale fighter jets currently being used by France to bomb Islamist militants in Mali, sources close to negotiations on the multi-billion dollar deal have told AFP.
The possibility of an additional 63 jets being added to an expected order for 126 was raised by India when Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid visited Paris last week, they said.
"There is an option for procurement of an additional 63 aircrafts subsequently for which a separate contract would need to be signed," a source said.
"Presently the contract under negotiation is for 126 aircraft but we are talking about the follow-up."
The Indian press has estimated the value of the deal for 126 Rafales at $12 billion (nine billion euros).
A 50 percent increase in the number of planes ordered would take it to around $18 billion, in a huge boost for the French defence industry.
India selected French manufacturer Dassault Aviation as its preferred candidate to equip its air force with new fighter jets in January 2012.
Under the deal on the table, the first 18 Rafales would be built in France but the next 108 would be assembled in India by Hindustan Aeronautics
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I worked for an American subsidiary or France’s Slumberger. Their defense arm regularly lied about delivery dates. It frequently shipped equipment with data indicating that the unit had passed its acceptance testing but, but didn’t work. We’d break the quality seals and discover that critical components were missing. We’d be told, “oh, they weren’t ready. Don’t worry, we’ll send them when they’re done.” Perhaps they only treated their own company that way, but I doubt it. I wouldn’t buy a screwdriver from France.
It’s been a pattern with France, anytime they need to drum up the PR camping of pimping their cool new fighter jets to India they find another defenseless African country to bomb. They did their first live demo on Libya and now with India raising the number to 189, Mali becomes the new location for their live demo. And this is the same country that criticized Bush for Iraq invasion.
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