Chidambaram said he feels that Dassault 'is laughing all the way to the bank', as the NDA government gave a 'gift'.
Three people were killed after the MiG-21 fighter aircraft crashed into a house in Hanumangarh in Rajasthan shortly after it took off for a routine training sortie from the Air Force Station at Suratgarh.
The French have been rewarded for their obstinacy with exactly what they wanted -- an order for fully built Rafales without technology transfer.
India won't pay more than $7 billion for 36 Rafale aircraft. The French want $11 billion.
The Congress on Monday sought a thorough probe in the Rafale defence deal and demanded answers from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after a French media report claimed that 1.1 million (Rs 9.5 crore) was paid to a "middleman" by the aircraft manufacturer.
HAL will build each Su-30 at just Rs 4.25 billion. The IAF is paying Rs 11.25 billion per Rafale, excluding the price of weapons and logistics.
As the Cabinet approves the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets, Nitin Gokhale/Bharatshakti.in reveals how India brought down the price of the Rafale deal.
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.
A fresh political war of words erupted on Tuesday over the Rafale issue as the Bharatiya Janata Party accused the Congress leadership of corruption citing claims of a French media report on 'commissions' being paid during the United Progressive Alliance rule and said the Indian National Congress should be renamed 'I Need Commission' party.
'India placed the order, primarily due to the IAF's 'critical operational necessity'.' 'The complexity of the IAF's requirements delayed the process for months.' 'It is these requirements which cannot be made public.' 'Can you image Indian politicians publicly discussing the pros and the cons of such military equipment?' 'It would provide India's enemies with indications about the IAF's tactical plans in case of a conflict.' 'It is crucial that they should remain secret to protect India's defence preparedness,' explains Claude Arpi.
At present, Pakistan has some edge with its fleet of F-16 jets with AMRAAM missile fitted with them, said an official.
In a display of India's military might, the Rafale fighter jets took part in the Republic Day flypast for the first time as the armed forces showcased its T-90 tanks, the Samvijay electronic warfare system and Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter jets on the Rajpath on Tuesday. Depicting the nation's rich cultural heritage and economic progress, 17 tableaux from states and union territories and nine from different Union ministries and paramilitary forces took part in the 72nd Republic day parade.
'It is not clear how the NDA government -- including Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, backed by senior IAF officials -- claimed that the 36 Rafale contract with Dassault in 2016 cost the IAF 20% less than Dassault's 126 Rafale offer,' notes Ajai Shukla in the first of a three-part series.
The BJP alleged that former French president Francois Hollande is part of the "nexus" to sabotage the procurement.
With alertness very high post the surgical strikes on terrorist camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and the Uri attack, Indian Air Force is aggressively upgrading infrastructure in the eastern sector specially in Arunachal Pradesh.
He has termed the deal 'a case of arbitrariness'.
The Indian Air Force is monitoring the developments along the western front, he said.
The CAG observed there was no change in the price of 'flyaway aircraft package'.
"The target is 2022. It is absolutely on target. I mentioned earlier. Except for one or two aircraft, minor delays because of COVID related issues, but, in fact, some deliveries have been ahead of time. So, broadly, we are absolutely on target on the Rafale induction plan," he said.
Congress said it expects the truth to prevail after the report on the Rafale deal is made public.
The gap between the existing air bases in China close to the LAC for fighter aircraft operations was around 400 kms but this would be bridged with the operationalisation of the Shakche airfield.
The armed forces are facing a shortage of over 52,000 soldiers with the Army topping the list with over 21,000 vacant posts, the government said on Wednesday.
The Centre also overruled financial advisers' recommendations for making payments through an escrow account, an important safeguard in the absence of a sovereign or bank guarantee, The Hindu has reported.
He said it is the duty of the Air Force personnel to remain combat worthy and maintain combat systems operational for any contingency at a short notice.
'If they aim to remain aligned with the public sentiment, as any democratic government should, then they must respond. Why else would the prime minister have cut short his visit to Saudi Arabia? And why would he have instructed the home minister himself to travel to Srinagar to assess the situation firsthand? This suggests that something is indeed being planned. I am quite certain of that, although the exact form it will take remains to be seen.'
Jaitley also dubbed Gandhi's attack on Modi as an attempt to shift the focus due to people's 'revulsion' towards the Congress party.
The Raksha Mantri was unable to address media queries about how much the Modi government was paying for 36 Rafales compared to what the UPA government had negotiated.
Prime Minister Imran Khan addressed a ceremony held at Pakistan Air Force base Minhas Kamra in Attock district of Punjab province to induct the new fighter jets.
Delivery of a great operational machine must not get affected to settle political scores, says Air Marshal Anil Chopra (retd).
Singh said, "It is extremely shocking and tragic that the prime minister of this country is pointing fingers at opposition parties for questioning the Army or the Air Force.
Last week, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said buying 90 less Rafale fighter jets than the 126 planned earlier would save him money to buy more Tejas Light Combat Aircraft for the India Air Force.
The Indian Air Force will carry out a mega exercise covering the Northeastern region early next month to check its combat readiness, amid a fresh spike in tension with China along the Line of Actual Control in Arunachal Pradesh.
People stood at their places with their phone cameras open but faced trouble capturing aircraft formations due to the layer of fog and smoke cloaking the capital.
French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian will hold talks with his Indian counterpart Manohar Parrikar on Tuesday.
All equipment from the Army which were part of the Republic Day celebrations are made-in-India, Chief of Staff Delhi Area Maj Gen Bhavnish Kumar had earlier said.
Here's the lowdown of charges and counter-charges over the multi-dollar deal.
Sitharaman said the weapon systems, avionics and other key add-ons to the Rafale aircraft, will be 'much superior' than that negotiated by the UPA.
Former Defence Minister A K Antony also demanded making public the inter-governmental agreement with France. He wondered how India would bridge the gap with respect to China and Pakistan by acquiring just 36 aircraft when the original plan was for 126.
HAL has integrated the ASRAAM (advanced short range air-to-air missile) for the Tejas Mark 1A. The Tejas Mark 1A will carry twin ASRAAM missiles with a range of 60 to 70 kilometres.
The 75th Republic Day celebrations at Kartavya Path on Friday showcased India's rich cultural diversity, military prowess, and 'Nari Shakti'.
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