India, France to Work out Rafale Modalities
Published May 7, 2015 | By admin
SOURCE: Express News Service
India and France on Wednesday decided to set up teams to work out the details of the acquisition of 36 Rafale fighter jets in fly-away condition in a “time bound manner”.
The decision came after visiting French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian held detailed discussions with his Indian counterpart, Manohar Parrikar, at the South Block.
On April 10, during his visit to Paris, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said, “Government of India conveyed to the Government of France that in view of the critical operational necessity for multirole combat aircraft for the Indian Air Force, Government of India would like to acquire 36 Rafale jets in fly-away condition as quickly as possible.”
“The two Defence Ministers discussed the modalities in order to reach an early conclusion of an inter-governmental agreement on the subject. The two sides decided to set up teams to work out the details in a time bound manner,” said Sitanshu Kar, principal spokesperson of the Ministry of Defence.
Meanwhile, officials claimed that the two ministers also deliberated on how to take forward the decision reached between the Prime Minister and the French President. They added that issues relating to cost, delivery schedules, offsets and other issues would be resolved by the teams.
Drian arrived here on Tuesday night after visiting the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. His visit follows the 14th edition of the “Varuna” exercise between Indian and French Navies, conducted from April 28 to May 2, off India’s Western coast with the carrier battle groups of the two countries.
French defence major Dassault Aviation, manufacturer of Rafale jets, is likely to enter into a joint venture with state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd or any private player to set up a base here for augmenting its production line at Merignac in France, sources said. |
|
发表于 2015-5-7 14:53
QQ好友和群
QQ空间
腾讯微博
腾讯朋友
收藏
