wonwinglo
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India is likely to expand a proposal to buy multi-role combat aircraft from 126 jets at present to 180-190, with the additional aircraft going to the Navy. The jets that are in the race for the deal include France's Rafale, the F-16 and F-18 of the US, Russia's MiG-35, Sweden's JAS-39 Gripen and the Eurofighter Typhoon, senior officials confirmed.
The increase in the number of jets to be bought would significantly boost the cost of the deal to around $10 billion or even more, Defence Ministry officials said.
The officials indicated that the Indian Navy's plans to augment its strike
capability and range to deal with ''out of area contingencies'' had delayed the Defence Ministry's request for proposals for the jets, over a year after the Indian Air Force (IAF) first publicly declared its intent to import 126 fighters.
The Rafale and Typhoon were not initially under consideration but had recently entered the race. Till recently, France's Mirage 2000-5 was also in the running but its manufacturer, Dassault Aviation, has informed the Indian Government of its decision to stop making the jet.
''We are on the verge of closing the Mirage fighter assembly line and want to offer India a quantum jump in technology in the shape of the upgraded multi-mission Rafale,'' Dassault head Chacks Edelstenne told Minister of State for Defence Rao Inderjit Singh during President Jacques Chirac's visit to India on February 19.
Dassault is believed to have informed the IAF - which operates around 50 Mirage 2000s - that the extensive Mirage repair and servicing facilities created at great expense by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd in Bangalore would need ''limited modification'' to accommodate the Rafale jet because this fighter has much in the common with the Mirage series.
In the late 1990s Dassault had pulled its Alphajet trainer out of the race for an IAF contract for 66 trainer jets after it stopped producing the aircraft while waiting for India to decide.
The increase in the number of jets to be bought would significantly boost the cost of the deal to around $10 billion or even more, Defence Ministry officials said.
The officials indicated that the Indian Navy's plans to augment its strike
capability and range to deal with ''out of area contingencies'' had delayed the Defence Ministry's request for proposals for the jets, over a year after the Indian Air Force (IAF) first publicly declared its intent to import 126 fighters.
The Rafale and Typhoon were not initially under consideration but had recently entered the race. Till recently, France's Mirage 2000-5 was also in the running but its manufacturer, Dassault Aviation, has informed the Indian Government of its decision to stop making the jet.
''We are on the verge of closing the Mirage fighter assembly line and want to offer India a quantum jump in technology in the shape of the upgraded multi-mission Rafale,'' Dassault head Chacks Edelstenne told Minister of State for Defence Rao Inderjit Singh during President Jacques Chirac's visit to India on February 19.
Dassault is believed to have informed the IAF - which operates around 50 Mirage 2000s - that the extensive Mirage repair and servicing facilities created at great expense by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd in Bangalore would need ''limited modification'' to accommodate the Rafale jet because this fighter has much in the common with the Mirage series.
In the late 1990s Dassault had pulled its Alphajet trainer out of the race for an IAF contract for 66 trainer jets after it stopped producing the aircraft while waiting for India to decide.