With the selection of the Rafale Marine by the Indian Navy, here’s a look at how it happened, and the challenges and consequences ahead.
French website Mediapart has revealed an agreement was concluded between Dassault and the Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group the day before an Indian defence ministry review overturned the selection of the Rafale as the winning bid in the IAF contest for 126 MMRCA fighter aircraft.
The IAF’s new contest for fighter aircraft is expected to get underway over the next few months. But there remain a number of significant outstanding problems ahead, that could delay or derail the process.
Part III of this analysis examines the implications of the single most interesting data point to emerge from the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India. This date has never been mentioned in earlier media reports, and what is almost startlingly significant is not only what transpired on this date, but the fact of the date, itself.
Part II of this analysis examines how the defence ministry’s Contract Negotiation Committee (CNC) interpreted an inflated cost analysis of the Eurofighter bid and undervalued the cost of the Rafale bid, five times.
Part I of this three-part analysis is a contextual reading of the February 2019 CAG report and outlines how the IAF’s MMRCA contest was fixed to get the Rafale back into the contest after it was rejected, three times, and how the threats to a Rafale win were removed.
This dismissal by the court also has several errors and in one instance, restricts the exercise of its own jurisdiction, which is likely to have implications for future cases that could pertain to defence or national security.
India’s defence procurement continues to raise more questions than answers, points out Hemant Shivakumar, with the uncertainty over the order of Spike Anti Tank Guided Missiles (ATGMs) appearing to be the latest casualty to the ‘Make in India’ initiative.
“Unfortunately the LCA has not been able to meet the carrier capability required. So that is why we need an alternate aircraft now,” said navy chief, Admiral Sunil Lanba.
Our columnist Mark narrates what transpired at Make In India Week and explains why Make In India cannot work in the defence sector under the existing dispensation.
Our pseudonymous analyst Mark is back with his take on the story so far of the IAF’s quest for fighter aircraft. He last contributed a much talked-about two-part analysis of the MMRCA tender in April 2012.
Minister of State for Defense, Mallipudi Mangapati Pallam Raju, accompanied by the deputy chief of the Indian Navy, Vice Admiral Satish Soni, asked the Bell Boeing V-22 Tiltrotor Team for a briefing on the aircraft.
The Indian Navy came in for a hard rap from the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) Thursday for buying Russian MiG-29K combat planes without their weapons systems, rendering them toothless.
Three Indian Air Force (IAF) officers had to face disciplinary action after a Rs.338-crore aerostat radar suffered a major accident, requiring repairs that cost INR 30.2 billion, the government’s auditor has found.
The Indian Navy has issued a Request For Information for a second batch of Multi-Role Helicopters, even with the existing tender process for 16 helicopters still under way. Unlike the earlier tender, the new RFI is also taking Life Cycle Cost into consideration as part of the assessment process.
