A Rafale fighter jet performs during the Aero India air show at Yelahanka air base in Bengaluru February 18, 2015. (Reuters)
Any future purchases of Rafale fighter jets will be through direct negotiations with the French government, said Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar today, calling into question an ongoing commercial negotiation with Dassault Aviation for 126 aircraft.
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday announced a plan to buy 36 ready-to-fly jets from Dassault through the government-to-government route to modernise an ageing fleet.
Defence Minister Parrikar said the PM's decision came after the commercial negotiation went into a "vortex," but stopped short of saying the government had scrapped the negotiation for a contract with Dassault, worth up to $20 billion.
On the weekend, Mr Parrikar had said that India will not receive its first Rafale fighter jet for up to two and a half years and tricky issues including pricing must still be worked out. While the order is meant to be delivered as soon as possible, terms and conditions of the deal - estimated at about $4.25 billion - have yet to be worked out.
India and France have negotiated for Rafale fighters for three years. A 2012 agreement to buy 126 jets stalled over cost and a dispute over the assembly of 108 aircraft in India.
Half of India's fighters are due to retire by 2024. Military officials have warned that the air force's reliance on a disparate fleet of Russian-made MiG and French Mirage fighters, along with modern Russian Sukhoi Su-30s, has made it vulnerable.
The Rafale fighters are expected to replace some of the MiGs and Mirage jets.
© Thomson Reuters 2015