It was time indeed that the much matured MIG-21s made way for fresh and feisty fighter jets. After a long drawn out painstaking process that began in 2007, India has finally made the much publicized purchase. Dassault Aviation, a French firm, will now supply us with 126 Rafale medium multi-role combat aircrafts (MMRCA). The heavy-duty deal is till-date the most swank in the security sector. It has cost us a whopping $10 billion or beyond!
A big-ticket buy like this one was bound to be burdened by considerations other than commercial and technical. It was almost a given that significant strategic study will go into who gets to be the seller. The race between Rafale and Typhoon, produced by a European consortium of four, was right to the finish. In the end, it was the commerce that clinched the pact for Paris as it had made the lowest bid. It was indeed satisfying to see the best bidder win in a sector that has in the past been taxed by many tainted transactions.
It is sad that zeroing down on the Rafale has left many feathers ruffled along the way. The United States was upset with us when both Boeing and Lockheed Martin that they had lobbied a lot for were shown the door earlier in the day. Now it is Britain that is barely able to hide its bitterness. The politicians and media are both lamenting the loss and want their revenge. They propose to cut the aid to India in order to chastise us. We can do very well without it as our Finance Minister has sharply said. Thank You.
