By IANS
New Delhi : Promising “total transparency” in an Indian Air Force (IAF) order for 126 combat jets, Defence Minister A.K. Antony has said the effort would be to get the “best bargain” from the manufacturer who bags the contract.
Antony also vehemently denied suggestions of a “secret deal” linking the IAF order to the India-US civilian nuclear deal.
“There will be total transparency. We have a transparent procurement policy and this will be strictly adhered to,” he told reporters here Tuesday evening. He was speaking on the sidelines of a function at which he felicitated two IAF pilots who have created a world record by circumnavigating the globe in 80 days in a microlight aircraft.
“Our aim will be to get the best bargain for the money we pay. At every stage, everything will be transparent,” he added of the selection process.
The IAF Tuesday floated a global tender for 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) worth $10 billion in the country’s biggest ever defence deal.
The 211-page request for proposal (RFP) has been sent to the manufacturers of six aircraft: the US F-16 and F-18 Super Hornet, the Swedish Gripen, the French Rafale, the Russian MiG-35 and an European consortium’s Eurofighter Typhoon.
Antony also made it clear that there was no truth in reports of a “secret deal” or “quid-pro-quo” on selecting an American manufacturer for the IAF order.
“123 has nothing to do with 126. Nobody can influence us. We want the best equipment at minimum cost,” the minister maintained. His reference was to a recently concluded technical accord, called the 123 agreement, that lays down the parameters for resuming nuclear commerce between the US and India after a 30-year hiatus.
“We are not against anyone or for anyone,” Antony contended, adding that each of the six contending manufacturers would have equal opportunity in the selection process.
The IAF tender comes six years after it initiated the process of identifying replacements for its ageing fleet of Soviet-era MiG series of fighter aircraft.
The six manufacturers to whom the RFP has been issued have been given six months to respond. A technical and commercial evaluation will then take place and this process is likely to take two-and-a-half years.
Once the contract is signed with the chosen manufacturer, it will take another two-and-a-half years before the first of the new aircraft start arriving.
By then, the IAF fighter fleet would have further depleted from its present strength of 30 squadrons. Thus, it is being said that the IAF could end up acquiring a total of 200 aircraft.
Towards this, the tender provides for raising the order by 50 percent on the same terms and conditions on which the 126 jets will be purchased.
Eighteen of the jets will be purchased in flyaway condition and the remaining 108 manufactured in India under a transfer of technology (TOT) agreement with the chosen supplier. The aircraft are envisaged to have a lifecycle of 40 years from the time of delivery.
The IAF has a sanctioned strength of 45 fighter squadrons but the highest it has been able to achieve is 391/2 squadrons. Each squadron has 18 aircraft.