French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, with about 12 Rafale jets on board, will arrive in India this week to take part in the 10-day naval exercise 'Varuna'.
'The INS Vishal -- a 65,000 tonne giant with 54 aircraft, including fighters, electronic warfare aircraft, airborne command posts and anti-submarine helicopters -- can both protect and dominate,' says Ajai Shukla.
"A global settlement was reached between the French tax authorities and Reliance Flag, a telecom company, in a tax dispute pertaining to the period 2008-2012," the French embassy said in a statement.
He had come in search of jobs in America to rescue his presidency and India failed him in more ways than one, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
What the new defence minister does with the Rafale fighter jet deal will decide if India wants to build genuine, long-term defence capability through an indigenous product that slashes life-cycle costs, or opt for glitzy signing ceremony with foreign vendors that would please the public, says Ajai Shukla.
'Despite frequent high-level interactions there has been little traction on substantive issues between India and France,' says Mohan Guruswamy.
Along with HAL, Boeing intends to involve the Mahindra Group in building Super Hornets in India.
Boeing expects the IAF to soon place an inquiry for twin-engine fighter jets to bridge a 200-aircraft gap in its armoury. And the Super Hornet is ready to fly in.
In the light of India's increasingly 'darkening' threat environment and the convergence of strategic interests between China and Pakistan, the IAF's declining combat capabilities are a cause for concern, says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
The National Democratic Alliance government has adopted half measures instead of moving decisively on defence.
Swedish defence major Saab has offered to manufacture its fifth generation Gripen fighter aircraft in New Delhi with technology transfer to India.
Rahul has singled out Anil Ambani several times for winning the Rafale defence contract from the Narendra Modi government, alleging favouritism and corruption.
He will be the first former Chief Justice of India to be nominated to Rajya Sabha. Former Chief Justice Ranganath Misra was also a Rajya Sabha member but he was elected on a Congress party ticket.
The plea said that Gandhi's statements had hurt the sentiments of prime minister's supporters.
For years, India's proposed purchase of 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft has been valued at Rs 42,000 crore. Now that valuation is set to rise dramatically
Gandhi said the BJP, in power in Madhya Pradesh since 2003, is only working for a few rich people.
With the Rafale contract in limbo, the upgrade of IAF's Mirage 2000 and Jaguar fighters has become vitally important.
Capable of flying at Mach 2.5 (two-and-a-half times the speed of sound), the F-15EX is the world's fastest fighter aircraft. It carries 13.5 tonnes of weapons load, more than the Rafale or the Sukhoi-30MKI.
France is ready to transfer the technology of its surface-to-air missile to the Defence Research and Development Organisation of India so that this country can build its own version, French Minister of State for Defence Jean-Marie Bockel said on Wednesday. He evaded a direct reply when asked if France would stop sales of weapons to Pakistan in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks.
Bharatiya Janata Party MP Varun Gandhi was at the centre of a controversy over allegations that he had leaked defence secrets to middleman Abhishek Verma and arms manufacturers after being "honey trapped", a charge he stoutly denied.
The IAF faces a 'fighter gap' of 13 squadrons. The IAF would be caught seriously short in a two-front war -- the worst-case planning contingency in which China and Pakistan attack India simultaneously, points out Ajai Shukla.
Rahul reiterated that there was massive corruption in the Rafale deal.
Rahul accuses govt of weakening HAL to benefit Anil Ambani while Sitharaman said doubts raised over HAL contracts are misleading.
'Narendra Modi knows how to calculate and remain pragmatic. Take the unexpected Rafale deal - perhaps the first time a PM has considered the country's defence procurement as a priority, over the considerations of the babus... and over his own pet project 'Make in India',' says Claude Arpi.
'Rahul is only making a pathetic public spectacle of his lack of judgment and good sense by hallucinating that somehow, the Congress, or whatever political combine is cobbled together, will displace the BJP at the coming Lok Sabha election by constantly harping on the Rafale deal,' argues retired civil servant B S Raghavan.
While the Rafale deal seems to be the main order of business during French President Francois Hollande's visit, other aspects could help sweeten the deal, says Claude Arpi.
French companies have invested more than $1 billion per year in India.
Disciplinary action is being taken against two officers in the shooting down of the chopper.
"When you tell one lie, you need to keep spinning out more lies, to cover up the first one. In her eagerness to defend the PM's Rafale lie, the RM lied to Parliament," Gandhi tweeted.
Boeing is pressing hard to win the Indian Navy contract for 57 aircraft carrier-borne fighters. It could offer the Super Hornet in the ongoing IAF procurement of 114 medium fighters; its upgraded F-15EX fighter also on the list.
Production in India would be open for companies other than HAL
SAAB's Sea Gripen constitutes a new option as the INS Vikrant's light fighter
Cutting down competition as of now to just two fighters -- F-16 by Lockheed Martin and Gripen by Saab -- Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Tuesday said India will select one more single engine aircraft other than Tejas for indigenous manufacture under 'Make in India' route.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius on Tuesday called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and discussed ways to strengthen cooperation in key areas such as defence, trade and investment with India expressing keenness on setting up industrial bases for it to boost ties.
Swedish defence major Saab has unveiled its next generation fighter aircraft, Gripen E, which the company said is being offered to the country under the 'Make in India' initiative with transfer of technology.
The Congress chief alleged that in the 2016 demonetisation exercise, black money became white, nobody went to jail and contrary to the BJP's promise, no one received Rs 15 lakh in their bank account.
The Indian Air Force has 31 fighter squadrons as against authorised strength of 42 squadrons.
His background as an Indian Institute of Technology graduate and as a chief minister with an excellent track record as an administrator equipped him to initiate defence industry and policy reforms that are only now beginning to bear fruit.
United States aerospace major Boeing on Thursday said it received approval from the country's government to offer its F-15EX multi-role combat jet to the Indian Air Force.
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