 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| . |  |
. |
India to favour France for 1.5 bln euro war plane contract: Thales
New Delhi (AFP) Jan 23, 2008 India's government is set to announce that France will be sole bidder for a contract worth up to 1.5 billion euros to upgrade its Mirage fighters, the French defence firm Thales said Wednesday. The official announcement of a reserved tender will coincide with a state visit to New Delhi by President Nicolas Sarkozy on Friday, said Thales' India director Francois Dupont. The move would be a major a boost for Paris' efforts to remain a primary player in the burgeoning Indian defence market, following serious problems with other contracts. "We are expecting an announcement from India on Friday that they will soon launch a tender reserved for French companies," Dupont told AFP. France would be the "sole and exclusive" bidder, he said. The Indian Air Force has 51 Mirage-2000 war planes, which are made by Dassault with electronics from Thales, that need a major upgrade. A consortium including Thales and Dassault has been facing stiff competition for an upgrade contract from Israel. "Israeli groups have been looking for us to make a mistake," Dupont said, adding, "We don't have a blank cheque, there will be a lot of negotiating." A contract was not expected to be signed before the end of the year or even 2009, sources involved in the negotiations said. Dupont also said France's Dassault Aviation would also put in an "excellent bid" for a 10-billion-dollar plus contract to supply 126 fighters to India before bidding closes in March. Thales is part of a consortium with Dassault and missile maker MBDA backing the Rafale fighter which has not been sold outside France. US giants Boeing and Lockheed Martin are also in the running, with their F-18 and F-16 aircraft respectively, alongside the European Eurofighter Typhoon, Russia's MiG-29 and the Gripen, made by Sweden's Saab. India has long sought to replace ageing Russian MiG-21s and but is not expected to make a choice for several years. India last month cancelled a 600-million-dollar deal to buy 197 military helicopters from the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company unit Eurocopter. The signing of the deal was to be one of the highlights of Sarkozy's visit. Instead, he is likely to push Eurocopter's case ahead of a fresh tender process that will give US firm Bell another stab at the contract. India's decision in 2006 to buy six Franco-Spanish Scorpene submarines worth three billion dollars has also run into trouble -- an Indian court has ordered police to complete a probe into allegations that 100 million dollars in bribes were paid. New Delhi, the biggest weapons buyer among emerging nations, is expected to splurge 30 billion dollars between 2007 and 2012. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links The Military Industrial Complex at SpaceWar.com Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
Bush speeds up licenses for military exports to US allies
Washington (AFP) Jan 22, 2008President George W. Bush signed secret orders Tuesday aimed at accelerating the approvals process for exports of military equipment to US allies without undermining national security. |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2007 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
