The Hindu : Front Page : ``No middlemen or agents in Mirage deal''

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Oct 26, 2004

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Front Page

``No middlemen or agents in Mirage deal''

By Sandeep Dikshit

NEW DELHI, OCT. 25. The Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal S. Krishnaswamy, today denied the "involvement of middlemen or agents" in the purchase of Mirage fighter aircraft from the French company Dassault. "Clearly, there were no middlemen or agents involved when the deal was signed in September 2000. It is a fact," he said when asked about reports of a Panama company brokering the deal.

Quoting documents sent by the Indian Embassy in Paris, the Air Chief said that Dassault had hired the company, Kayser, for "market-related research" in the Asian region. The contract ended two years prior to the signing of the Indian contract in 2000. According to the information received from the Indian Embassy, Kayser lost its case in the French High Court as also the appeal against the verdict.

"All negotiations for the 10 new Mirages followed established Government norms and practices,'' he said after emerging from the IAF Commanders' Conference. The delivery of the 10 Mirages had been delayed but they would be inducted into the IAF before the end of the year.

Procurement on course

Despite the controversy, the process to procure 140 more multi-role aircraft in which Dassault was also a bidder was on course. A Russian and an American company had also shown interest in the multi-million dollar deal. The IAF had gone through the bids and had submitted its proposal to the Defence Ministry.

Safety record

The IAF's two-squadron Mirage fleet has had an excellent safety record but suffered three quick crashes over the past one month. While one aircraft is likely to be put back in service, the other two have been written off. Preliminary reports put the blame on technical defect, mainly with the undercarriage. A joint team from Dassault and the IAF will conduct an in-depth investigation into the causes.

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