New Delhi: India will finalise a $15 billion deal to buy 126 Rafale fighter jets from France's Dassault Aviation by March 2014, an Indian air force official said on Thursday, after the deal had been held up by differences over local manufacturing.
New Delhi picked the Rafale for exclusive negotiations in January 2012 after a bidding contest against Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft, made by a consortium involving EADS, Finmeccanica and BAE Systems.
But there were differences over the role of India's state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd in manufacturing the jets.
Air Marshal S. Sukumar, deputy chief of air staff, told an aerospace conference the deal would be signed within the current financial year, according to a statement issued by conference organiser, the Confederation of Indian Industry.
17/10/13 Reuters/Economic Times
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New Delhi picked the Rafale for exclusive negotiations in January 2012 after a bidding contest against Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft, made by a consortium involving EADS, Finmeccanica and BAE Systems.
But there were differences over the role of India's state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd in manufacturing the jets.
Air Marshal S. Sukumar, deputy chief of air staff, told an aerospace conference the deal would be signed within the current financial year, according to a statement issued by conference organiser, the Confederation of Indian Industry.
17/10/13 Reuters/Economic Times
