Thursday, March 26, 2015

Rafale the next logical step under 'Make in India': Dassault Aviation

New Delhi: Pitching the multi-billion deal for 126 Rafale combat jets as the "logical step" towards the 'Make in India' initiative, Dassault Aviation on Wednesday hoped that the contract which has been "95% finalised" would be signed soon.

At a ceremony to hand over the first two upgraded Mirage 2000 fighter aircraft to India, the company's CEO Eric Trappier declined to give a timeline for the signing of the deal, saying the question should be put to the Indian Defence Ministry.

However, he said it was better to take time now than clarifications being sought after the signing of the contract which he said is already running into thousands of pages.

When rafale was shortlisted in 2012, the deal was estimated to be about US$ 10 billion but it is now over USD 20 billion, including the life-cycle cost.
25/03/15 PTI/Daily News & Analysis
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