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French policies more conducive than those of U.S. for smooth defence ties: Dassault

Sandeep Dikshit

“We are a country which sells military equipment without preconditions, says chief of aviation major”

Dassault is one of the six contenders for $10-billion IAF tender for fighter planes
“Our market is for countries that want to be independent of the U.S.”

NEW DELHI: Competing for one of the biggest contracts for fighter aircraft in recent times, aviation major Dassault has contended that the policies of the French government are more conducive than those of the U.S. for a smooth defence relationship.

Dassault is one of the six contenders for the estimated $10-billion Indian Air Force (IAF) tender for 126 fighter planes.

Sweet offer

Visiting India with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Dassault’s Chief Executive Officer Charles Edelstenne sweetened the offer by proposing to sell the licence to India after the IAF inducts the 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA).

“Our market is for countries that want to be independent of the U.S. Will India continue to be independent of the U.S.? I don’t know,” he said, while arguing that arms and fighters were part of independence of a country. “The U.S. policy [of imposing sanctions and stopping military deals] is well-known. The law has been made by the U.S. Congress which, to my knowledge, has not changed.”

“We are a country which sells military equipment without any preconditions. Even though Russia was the major equipment supplier, France had also supplied military equipment to India. Will India follow the same policy which ensures transfer of technology without attaching any ties to the selling of planes?”

Rafael plane

Asked if the same logic applied to Russia, which like France has been a long-standing supplier to the IAF and encourages multi-polarity, the Dassault chief pointed out that problems with the Russian equipment “always exists.” The Rafael plane could compete with the U.S.-made F-16 which was “one generation” behind the French plane.

“On merits, it is the right plane for Indian defence requirements,” he argued. Asked whether the company would meet the stiff off-set target for the MMRCA tender, Mr. Edelstenne referred to the Anglo-French origin Jaguar bombers which were fully manufactured in India. “We are used to transfer of technology and foreign companies taking over production.”

Under the MMRCA off-set obligation, the winner will have to source 50 per cent of the contract value from India. As the MMRCA tender is estimated at Rs.42,000 crore, the government expects companies registered in India to get business worth Rs.21,000 crore. Besides the MMRCA tender, Dassault is eyeing other business opportunities.

Mirage upgradation

It has proposed to upgrade the Mirage and is awaiting a decision from the Indian government to see if “we have been chosen in order to begin negotiations.” It has also offered to sell 40 Rafael planes in order to plug the fall in IAF force levels. “If India is interested, we are ready to answer. The offer stands.” (India recently placed an order for 40 additional Sukhois).

There is “no status at all” about India’s plan to buy some Mirage fighters currently with Qatar Air Force. With both countries failing to agree on the price, discussions have come to a standstill. Two years back, Dassault had offered to sell two squadrons of Mirage planes but, in this case too, there has been “no movement” on the proposal.

About the lack of international orders for Rafael, Mr. Edelstenne explained that this was because the plane had so far competed in countries where the chances of getting the contract were “small.” The company had bid for a South Korean order at a time when Seoul’s policy was to reintegrate with North Korea. It, therefore, wanted to place orders on a country with no stakes in the region. “But the pressure by the U.S. was such that we lost.”

The second country where Rafael competed was Singapore, described by the Dassault chief as “equivalent to a U.S. carrier in the east.” In the Netherlands, which has “never bought a European fighter,” the tender was opened to non-U.S. companies because of internal political pressure.

Hinting at favouritism in this case too, he contended that the U.S. company had offered a “paper plane” which had begun to fly just a year ago. “We knew we would lose but we had to present the plane.”

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