Not interested in Rafale deal now: HAL

BENGALURU: Steering clear of the political slugfest over the Rafale deal, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) on Thursday said it was not interested in the French fighter jet project offsets anymore and asserted it was not being ignored by government.

The Defence sector public sector undertaking also said the political fight over Rafale has not affected its morale and business prospects.

"Yes, we do feel bad when there are bad things said, but it has not affected us. Our staff and middle management are more enthusiastic. This does not affect our business either," HAL chairman and managing director R Madhavan said.

He also said the company was not interested in "offsets and direct purchases".

"..That was the government's decision to take it as a direct purchase and we are not interested in it, he added.

"If it's coming as a business to us, we will be interested in it," Madhavan told reporters at the Aero India 2019 air show at the Yelahanka IAF air base, north of Bengaluru.

On the issue of the HAL's man-hours for manufacturing the Rafale, Madhavan said there is always a learning curve and there should not be any comparison of HAL's first aircraft with the 100th aircraft of others. "You cannot compare our first aircraft with somebody's 100th aircraft.

There is always a learning curve for the first one.

If you look at the Su-30, our manhours is lesser than the original equipment manufacturer.

The HAL chief also brushed aside the remarks of Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh on Mirage 2000 crash, saying the incident was not the way it was reported in the media and he would await completion of court of inquiry. "Our capabilities are on par with anybody else. There is no shortage on these fronts. Anyone can make such comments.

Meanwhile, the French aerospace and defence company Thales awarded HAL a contract to supply 135 2.75inch (70-mm) rocket launchers.

Thales's fully certified, field-proven, competitive rocket launchers are suitable for use on both light and combat helicopters, the company said.

The company said that it also hopes to get an order for a squadron of Sukhoi-30 fighter jets which are assembled in the state-owned facility.

"We have put up a proposal and we hope to get a new squadron of Sukhois (Sukhoi-30 fighter jets) in the future," Madhavan said.