RAFALE DEAL A GAMECHANGER, SAYS IAF CHIEF DHANOA

NEW DELHI: Indian Air Force (IAF) chief BS Dhanoa on Wednesday described the government’s decision to buy 36 Rafale fighters from France in a government-to-government deal as a “bold step” to scale up the IAF’s capabilities, and called the warplane a “gamechanger” and a much-needed “booster dose” for the force, even as he questioned the ability of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to deliver warplanes on schedule.

Air Chief Marshal Dhanoa’s strong defence of the controversial deal comes against the backdrop of sharp attacks from the Congress-led Opposition that accuses the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government of negotiating an overpriced deal to buy fighters in flyaway condition from France.

He said the negotiations by the previous United Progressive Alliance government to purchase 126 Rafale jets had hit an impasse.

It could not be translated into a contract, the air chief said.

“We could have kept negotiating and waiting for something to happen or withdrawn the request for proposal or go in for emergency purchase of 36 planes… The government took a bold step and bought 36 jets to offset the capabilities that the adversaries had been acquiring,” he said at his customary press conference ahead of Indian Air Force Day on October 8. The cost of the fighters was “reasonable and adequate,” he added.

The NDA government’s decision to enter into a deal with France was announced in April 2015 with the deal signed a little over a year later.

This replaced the UPA regime’s decision to buy 126 Rafale aircraft, 108 of which were to be made in India by HAL using parts imported from France.

Dhanoa detailed the time overruns in several crucial HAL programmes, including the Sukhoi- 30s.

“Su 30 is three years behind, 25 jets are yet to be delivered. Jaguar Darin 3 is six years behind, Light Combat Aircraft (initial operational clearance configuration) is five years behind and the Mirage-2000 upgrade is two years behind,” Dhanoa said, describing the delays as a “slight lag” in the HAL’s delivery schedule.