French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian meets Manohar Parrikar to push ahead with Rafale fighter jet deal

NEW DELHI: French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian met his Indian counterpart Manohar Parrikar in Delhi on Monday as part of efforts to expedite contracts for 126 Rafale fighter jets and short range surface-to-air missiles (SRSAM) that will be co-developed and jointly produced in India.

Le Drian’s maiden visit since the BJP-led NDA government took charge in May comes at a time when the two sides are looking at ways to clear the roadblocks, including differences over the price of the fighter jets that have held up the contracts.

Of the 126 fighter jets, 18 will come from France. The rest 108 will be manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited in India after transfer of technology. The cost of the project has increased to $30 billion (about Rs 1,860 crore) from the initial $10 billion. Some differences have cropped up over transfer of technology as well, officials said.

In 2011, Rafale was chosen from a set of bidders, including Eurofighter Typhoon (made by a group of European nations, including UK and Germany), American, Russian and Swedish fighter jets. Eurofighter, which is offering a discount, has shown willingness to enter into negotiations with India if the contract with Rafale does not get sealed. Both Germany and the UK are pitching for the Eurofighter.

Meanwhile, after showing willingness for the past seven years to acquire SRSAM, the IAF has initiated the process for a new procurement from a different vendor through a Request for Information or RFI.

SRSAM is a government-to-government deal initiated in 2007. The project also has a huge export potential.