Rafale deal will bring relief to IAF: Parrikar
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has seen a reduction in fighter squadrons due to the phasing out of ageing MiG-21, MiG-23 and MiG-27 aircraft. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence acknowledged the "shortage" and highlighted the multi-pronged approach being taken to address it. This includes the induction of indigenous Tejas fighters and the procurement of additional LCA Mk-1A aircraft. The report also addresses concerns over "incidences of spying" within the IAF and details the action taken against those involved.
"These observations from three members were given to me as the INT chairman. This was not a dissent note," he said.
The Rafale will surely be flying in Indian skies next year. But the way the BJP government has botched this will cast a shadow on defence acquisitions in the years to come.
A three-judge bench presided by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and comprising of Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and K M Joseph said that it was not their job to go into the issue of pricing of the fighter planes.
The list of aircraft planned to be inducted by the Air Force include 36 Rafales, 114 Multirole Fighter Aircraft, 100 Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) and over 200 variants of the Light Combat Aircraft. "In the next 15 years, 83 LCAs are our primary focus, after that LCA Mark 2 will come in we are looking at close to 100 of those, that makes it near 200 of LCA class," Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria told ANI in an interview.
Why did Modi bypass the Cabinet before he committed India to the Rafale deal?
'It is hard to justify $225 million a plane for an increasingly obsolete mission.' The purchase of the 36 Rafales has changed little for the IAF.
Several persons fainted and emergency workers carried them in stretches and provided care in shelters. Over 30 people were rushed to nearby government hospitals with symptoms of dehydration.
In its report tabled in Parliament, the national auditor said the Dassault Aviation and the MBDA proposed in September 2015 to discharge 30 per cent of their offset obligations by offering high technology to the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), but the two firms are yet to do it.
In his PIL, Sharma alleged discrepancies in the fighter jet deal with France and sought stay on it.
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.
As part of the Cope India 2023 exercise, five top-notch fighter jets of the two air forces took off in quick succession from the air force base.
Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa said that no country in the world is facing the kind of grave threat that India is confronted with.
Congress has repeatedly alleged a "scam" in the purchase of Rafale fighter jets claiming the cost per aircraft in 2012 was agreed at Rs 526.10 crore while the one signed by the Modi government costs 7.5 billion (Rs 1,670.70 crore per aircraft).
The IAF said the details are held by it in fiduciary
Directly accusing Modi of corruption in the deal for the French fighter planes, he said the prime minister had favoured his businessman "friend" Anil Ambani by getting him the "contract".
"We don't deny the deaths, which were all related to heat conditions as the people remained under the hot sun from 11 am till 1 pm. Let me make it clear, we made arrangements anticipating 15 lakh people for the IAF's 92nd Day celebrations and even provided more than what the IAF had sought," the minister told reporters in Chennai.
Saab believes co-developing Tejas Mark II would end need for Rafale. Ajai Shukla reports
Macron, who assumed the presidency in May 2017, emphasised that this is a government-to-government discussion and "this contract is part of a broader framework which is military and defence" coalition between India and France.
Defence Ministry says the report is being verified, maintaining that neither Indian nor French government had any say in the decision.
A day after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh formally took delivery of the first of the 36 Rafale multi-role fighter jets, Dassault Aviation, the French company that manufactures the jets, has released the first airborne photographs of the second aircraft with the tail number RB-002.
'Allegations of Reliance benefitting by thousands of crores is a figment of imagination, promoted by vested interests'
The Centre had submitted that privilege documents were procured by petitioners in an illegal way and used to support their review petitions against the December 14, 2018 judgment of the apex court dismissing all pleas challenging procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets from France.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi will pronounce the verdict.
'So far there is no clear money trail nor an indisputable smoking gun.' 'But that doesn't mean there aren't disturbing questions and a strange resistance by the government to reveal the price, which only adds suspicion to concern,' observes Karan Thapar.
Dhanoa is a on a four-day visit to France to ramp up cooperation between the air forces of the two countries in a range of areas.
NSA Doval, defence top brass brief Union ministers on the deal to help them counter Opposition charges.
'There is no secrecy clause to the price (of the aircraft).' 'There can be secrecy on the capability of the nuclear payload of aircraft and things like that, but the price is hardly a secret.'
He also cautioned against politicisation of defence purchases, suggesting that this had earlier led to the delay in the army acquiring the Bofors gun.
"It is reiterated that the petitioners are using documents with the intention to present a selective and incomplete picture of internal secret deliberations on a matter relating to national security and defence," the defence ministry said.
'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 disagreement over liability further complicates any early conclusion of the Rafale contract.
Dassault Aviation chief Eric Trappier has made it clear it would take at least three years to deliver 36 Rafales to the Indian Air Force.
There is a vital difference between Bofors and Rafale, explains Shekhar Gupta.
Negotiations for procurement of Rafale fighter jets for the Indian Air Force will begin this month and the multi-billion dollar deal will be finalised soon.
With the Rafale fighter deal stuck over price negotiations, can the prime minister step in and find a way out for both countries?
"What I said was if we had Rafale at the time (of aerial dogfight), then none of our fighter jets would have gone down and none of theirs saved," he added.
Sitharaman criticised the news report for raising issues 'selectively' and ignoring the then defence minister Manohar Parrikar's reply.
She said then defence minister Manohar Parrikar had replied to the letter asking the official to remain 'calm' as everything was 'alright'.
