The twists and turns of India’s biggest defence deal
January 31st, 2012 - 8:08 pm ICT by IANSNew Delhi, Jan 31 (IANS) This is how India’s biggest defence deal — a $10.4-billion tender for 126 combat aircraft — panned out:
* 2000: Indian Air Force (IAF) conveys to defence ministry its interest in acquiring medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) to replace its ageing fleet of Soviet-era MiG-21s and because of delays in developing the indigenous light combat aircraft (LCA).
* 2001: IAF issues request for information (RFI) for 126 combat jets.
* 2003: IAF seeks defence ministry’s permission to buy 50 more French Mirage-2000s to shore up the only MMRCAs in its fleet as a stop-gap arrangement. The aircraft had been acquired in the mid-1980s.
* 2004: Defence ministry asks IAF to instead issue a larger MMRCA tender.
* 2005: Defence ministry issues initial MMRCA tender but withdraws it quickly even as it starts receiving responses from vendors.
* 2006: The then IAF chief, Air Chief Marshal S.P. Tyagi, flags the dwindling squadron strength of the force. From a sanctioned strength of 39.5 combat squadrons, the IAF is down to 33 squadrons.
* August 2007: India issues the tender for 126 MMRCAs at an estimated cost of $10.4 billion.
* February 2008: US majors Boeing and Lockheed Martin, Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation, France’s Dassault, European consortium EADS and Sweden’s SAAB submit their bids.
* April 2009: Reports that Dassault and SAAB are out of the race.
* May 2009: Defence ministry says Dassault and SAAB still in contention.
* April 2010: IAF completes its flight and weapons evaluation of the six contenders on the basis of 643 parameters.
* December 2010: Offset proposals of contenders goes missing; later found on the roadside in south Delhi. The incident threatens to derail the tendering process.
* April 2011: India down-selects EADS and Dassault for the final leg of the contest, rejecting the other four contenders.
* November 2011: The commercial offers from European consortium Eurofighter and France’s Dassault Aviation opened.
January 31, 2011: Dassault informed that it has emerged as the lowest bidder.
- Timeline for India's combat jet deal - Apr 28, 2011
- Defence ministry panel to consider combat jet deal next month - Sep 22, 2011
- Price talks for 126 jets to begin this month: IAF chief - Mar 10, 2011
- All vendors given reasons for combat jet short-listing: IAF chief - May 02, 2011
- India set to pick $10.4-bn combat plane deal winner - Oct 07, 2011
- EADS, Dassault asked to extend combat jet bids till December - Apr 28, 2011
- Combat jet tender: India to finalise lowest bidder in six weeks - Jul 26, 2011
- India opens combat plane tender bids; cost to go up - Nov 04, 2011
- New planes' induction will reduce air crashes: Antony - Feb 05, 2011
- Unsuccessful firms keep options open on India's combat jets order - Apr 28, 2011
- No politics in deciding combat plane winner: Antony - Nov 11, 2011
- France's Dassault wins India's $10.4 bn combat jet deal (Roundup) - Jan 31, 2012
- France's Dassault wins India's $10.4bn warplane deal (Intro Roundup) - Jan 31, 2012
- Defence modernisation: Critical deals materialised, others faced time overruns (2011 in retrospect) - Dec 27, 2011
- IAF to seal combat plane deal in November - Oct 08, 2011
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