Air Chief Marshal B.S. Dhanoa on Wednesday termed as a “game-changer” the Narendra Modi government’s decision to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets from France, but refused to disclose their price.
Addressing the annual media conference in Delhi ahead of Air Force Day on October 8, Dhanoa said the Indian Air Force played no role in the deal and that it was French manufacturer “Dassault Aviation that was to select (the) offset partner.”
“The government decided to buy two squadrons through a government-to-government deal to meet emergency requirements. HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd) was involved in transfer of technology and licenced production…. So there is no question of HAL being left out. Rafale is a very good aircraft. We have got a good package, got a lot of advantages in the Rafale deal. It will be a game-changer in the sub-continent,” the IAF chief said.
“I cannot make any comment on the price of the fighter aircraft. The price of the jets has already been disclosed by the finance minister.”
Replying to a question whether the IAF was consulted on the decision to reduce the number of jets from 126, as agreed upon by the previous UPA government, to 36, Dhanoa said the final choice was made by the government. “At the appropriate level the IAF was consulted. The IAF had given some options but it is up to the government to choose.”
The air force chief said the negotiations for the 126-aircraft deal had reached an impasse. “The option before us was to keep waiting and waste more years or go in for an emergency purchase. The government took a bold decision,” he said.
The Rafale controversy took a dramatic turn last month after former French President Francois Hollande was quoted as saying by Paris-based news website Mediapart that it was the Indian government that had proposed the name of Anil Ambani’s Reliance Defence as the offset partner in the aircraft deal.
The Narendra Modi government had denied Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s charge that Anil Ambani had been favoured with business worth thousands of crores as part of the Rafale deal. The government had said it had no role in the decision and the choice of Reliance was made by Dassault Aviation.
Modi had announced the procurement of 36 Rafale fighter aircraft after holding talks with Hollande in April 2015 in Paris. Hollande was the French President when the Rs 58,000-crore deal was announced.
Asked if someone in the government had pushed Reliance’s case, Dhanoa said: “Offsets are a prerogative of the OEM (original equipment manager). The government and the IAF had nothing to do with it. Dassault Aviation had chosen Reliance Defence as its offset partner.”
The air force chief said the Rafale deal and the proposed pact with Russia to procure S-400 air defence missile systems were like a “booster dose” and it would enhance the IAF’s capabilities.
India is expected to sign the S-400 deal when Russian President Vladimir Putin visits Delhi later this week.
On the threat posed by China, Dhanoa said India was keeping a close watch and developing counter-strategies. “We are watching infrastructure development in China. We have a plan to counter that as we are also developing infrastructure.”
