That followed three years of commercial negotiations with Dassault for 126 aircraft that stalled due to disagreements over assembling most of the aircraft in India.
Citing India's urgent defence needs, Modi chose to deal directly with Paris for a smaller order, saying officials would work out the details.
But those talks were bogged down over India's insistence on a lower price for the frontline warplanes than the roughly $200 million each that was discussed with Dassault during the commercial talks, said the two defence officials, who have been briefed on the new negotiations.
Under the previous proposal, Dassault was to assemble 108 of the aircraft in India, a move New Delhi hoped would help boost a high-tech local aerospace industry. There is no production in India in the new arrangement.
India's order of 36 French-made Rafale fighter jets has run into trouble with government officials struggling to agree sales terms
No comments:
Post a Comment