Dassault Eyes Contract To Supply 57 Rafale
Fighter Jets To Indian Navy
Updated: February 15, 2017 16:10 IST
BENGALURU:
After securing the Euro 8.78 billion deal for 36 Rafale fighters jets to
strengthen the Indian Air Force fleet, French aircraft manufacturer Dassault
Aviation is now eying the naval contract of 57 aircraft that is up for grabs.
The navy issued a 'Request for Information' last month seeking response from
various manufacturers to equip its aircraft carriers with fighter jets,
shelving the original plan to go in for the naval version of the indigenous
Tejas Light Combat Aircraft.
Eric Trappier, CEO of Dassault Aviation, said
the French aviation company will pitch for the naval contract. "We are the
only company to have strictly the same aircraft for our air force and for our
navy. Our Rafale for the navy and the air force are same," he told news agency
PTI.
Early last year, a team from France had given
a detailed presentation to senior navy officers on various aspects of the naval
version and the benefits it would offer with two arms of defence forces using
Rafale fighter jets.
"In case we have the new contract for
the navy, we will benefit from the local implementation of the Rafale
production (for the air force)," Mr Trappier said.
The Air Force is also looking to procure
fighter jets to replenish its aging fleet. Dassault has already begun manufacturing
the initial lot of 36 Rafale fighter jets for the Indian Air Force.
Like other defence companies vying for the
multi-billion dollar contract, Dassault too has offered to set up a
manufacturing line in India. "We started to think seriously about
producing Rafale in India a long time ago. We will start production of parts of
the Rafale jet, which is a part of the exisiting contract.
"It will not only be Rafale, but parts
of Falcon (fighter jet) will be produced in India too. We want to have a serious
footprint under the Make in India programme."
"If we get new contract for more Rafale
jets, it will help us to develop more capabilities and we will have an assembly
line in India," Mr Trappier said.
Original post: ndtvcom
Related post:
Dassault Rafale: Details
No comments:
Post a Comment