dassault negotiates with MoD for larger role for Reliance Group

Business Standard, Feb 8

[…]
Asserting that the “extremely complex project” remains “very much on track”, the air chief stated that current negotiations were not about price but about “work share between HAL (and) Dassault.”
Senior MoD sources tell Business Standard that in discussions in the CNC, Dassault objects to being responsible for the on-time delivery of all the contracted 126 Rafale fighters, even though Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) will assemble all but the first 18.

Dassault’s concern is rooted in the three-way contract that New Delhi has mandated for the Rafale. The Government of India will sign a contract with Dassault for 18 fully built fighters; and for 108 more fighters that must be built in HAL. Dassault will sign a parallel contract with HAL, laying down the terms for building 108 fighters in HAL, and spelling out the responsibilities of either party. […] The French company fears that the new arrangement could hold Dassault responsible for delays actually caused by HAL. For that reason Dassault is arguing in the CNC for doing as much manufacturing as possible in its joint venture (JV) with Reliance.

“Rafale would ideally like to build its entire fighter in the Dassault-Reliance JV with HAL’s role being reduced to a token screwdriver turn. But the MoD cannot accept that, since the Request for Proposals (RfP) mandates that the Rafale will be assembled in HAL. Negotiations are now about the maximum role permissible for the Dassault-Reliance JV,” says an official involved in the discussions.
[…]
Asked the same question today, Air Chief Marshal Browne answered in greater detail.
“The OEM (original equipment manufacturer, i.e. Dassault) has been given the full right to select any production partner that he wishes to have in India or abroad. We have no issues; if he has to supply certain kits, he can get it manufactured in Bangalore… or from Reliance or from anybody else. We have no issues, or we have no say in that matter. That’s a business relationship between Dassault and Reliance,” explained Browne.

“(But) the licensed manufacture part, it is very clear in the RfP that it has to be done by HAL…. Whatever else he (Dassault) gets manufactured here, there, wherever… the Indian government and the IAF have no issues there. As long as those kits and everything else are supplied and given to HAL at the instance of the OEM, for the licensed manufacture.”

The outcome of the CNC negotiations, say experts, will be crucial in determining the trajectory of Reliance’s emergence as an aerospace manufacturer in India.[…]

http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/rafale-deal-likely-by-mid-2013-113020701260_1.html

Mali : in the heat of the night

The French Air Force has made a decisive contribution in operation Serval, on the night of February 2 to 3, north of Kidal. Almost all Serval fighters were mobilized [6 Rafale+6 Mirage 2000D], with 6 tankers, 1 Harfang UAV, several ATL-2 and 1 AWACS. A general in the Air Force conducted the operations for this particularly complex mission since the strikes were carried out simultaneously to obtain maximum surprise.
Helicopters were ready to spring into action. Twenty planned objectives have been hit by a thirty bombs during the night, including by ATL-2.

http://lemamouth.blogspot.fr/2013/02/serval-dans-la-chaleur-de-la-nuit.html

Dassault says 31 Rafale evaluation sorties have been flown in Doha [Qatar] last July. All of them involved the AESA version of the RBE2 radar.

https://mobile.twitter.com/G_Steuer/status/299438422878212096

IAF chief on #MMRCA: @Dassault is free to choose partners to build kits. But finally, license production will be by HAL.

https://mobile.twitter.com/livefist/status/299431178434396160

Business Standard, 5th Feb 13

Rafale July take off

Will Aero India 2013, the aeronautical jamboree that kicks off in Bangalore on Wednesday, be relatively subdued? Since 2005, zing has been imparted to successive versions of this biennial air show by the Indian Air Force’s riveting, multi-billion dollar quest for a medium multi-role combat aircraft ( MMRCA) to help meet our two-front security challenges. Every alternate year, the world’s foremost military aircraft vendors – including Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Dassault, Eurofighter,Gripen International and MiG – would converge on Bangalore along with myriad sub-vendors, pitching for their products and vetting prospective Indian partners for the offset obligations that would accrue from the world’s biggest international fighter deal. And each time one of the contending fighters would scream into the skies for an aerobatics display, the pilot would push it to the limits knowing that key decision makers were watching the performance.

But now, with Dassault’s Rafale fighter having won that six-way contest, has the fizz gone out of Aero India? With none of the Rafale’s erstwhile rivals coming to Bangalore, what will the spectators and aerobatics buffs crane their necks upwards at? Other than the Rafale, the only foreign fighters performing aerobatics will be The Russian Knights, a Moscow-based team that flies the Sukhoi-27. Is this a metaphor for a larger strategic truth: that after everyone has come and gone, there still remain the Russians?

Actually, any reports of the demise of Aero India would be exaggerated, given India’s dubious status as the world’s biggest buyer of weaponry. Besides, New Delhi is also the world’s most unpredictable arms buyer; and some fighter manufacturers believe that the last word has not yet been said on the MMRCA purchase. Even as New Delhi and Dassault continue to negotiate, the runner-up in the MMRCA contest, Eurofighter GmbH, maintains a major presence in New Delhi. It will be there in Bangalore even if the Eurofighter itself will not fly displays.

Few know better than EADS, one of Eurofighter GmbH’s parent companies, how quickly apparently done deals collapse in the Indian procurement environment. In 2007, New Delhi reversed its decision to buy 197 light helicopters from Eurocopter after allegations of corruption emerged. In 2010, New Delhi cancelled its tender for Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) aerial refuelling aircraft, which Airbus seemed poised to win, and reissued the tender (last month, Airbus finally won the contract).

“It’s not over till the fat lady sings,” says an EADS official. With general elections due in the first half of 2014, there is speculation that negotiations with Dassault could run into a new government in New Delhi. Another aspect that EADS and Eurofighter regard as a potential deal-breaker is Dassault’s (perceived) inability to deliver the Rafale to the IAF at the price that Dassault quoted in its commercial bid. According to this argument, Dassault had counted on winning the Brazilian order for 36 Rafale fighters, and a UAE order for up to 60 Rafales, bringing down production costs. But with only the Indian tender for 126 fighters having been won, Dassault’s cost of production could be significantly higher than quoted. If so, political uncertainty would be compounded by financial unviability.

So how far is the ministry of defence (MoD) from actually signing a deal with Dassault? In my understanding there is a better-than-even chance that this could happen in June/July. People who should know insist that there is no looming deal-breaker in terms of cost; and that ongoing negotiations are not about cost but about the modalities of production in India.

Dassault’s major concern is that New Delhi’s Request for Proposals (as the tender document is called) mandates that the Rafale be assembled in Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), with Dassault responsible for timely delivery. The French vendor argues that it can take responsibility for the first 18 Rafale fighters, which will be built in France and delivered to the IAF in flyaway condition. But the next 118 aircraft, which must be assembled in HAL, would be clouded by uncertainty, given HAL’s poor production ethos and track record. Recent delays in HAL’s production of the BAE Systems trainer, the Hawk, support Dassault’s contention.

Dassault is arguing for doing much of the production and integration at a facility that it will set up in partnership with Reliance, which it partnered a year ago. Negotiations continue, with Dassault contending that it cannot be responsible for delivery if the aircraft were to be manufactured on a HAL line; while the MoD insists that the Dassault-Reliance venture can build components, sub-systems and systems, but the integration must be done at HAL.

Meanwhile, the Rafale will entertain the crowds at Aero India, unencumbered by the presence of a crop of rivals. And, as long as India retains its dubious status as the world’s biggest buyer of weaponry (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute estimates that India imported $3.58 billion, or Rs 19,000 crore, worth of conventional arms in 2011), Aero India 2013 will be bigger than ever.

Tailpiece: also flying aerobatics displays will be the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), an Indian-designed and -built fighter that is a major aeronautical triumph but has never got the funding or attention that it deserves. The Tejas, at an advanced stage of flight testing, will perform vertical loops, barrel rolls and display its low-speed handling capabilities. Keep an eye out for it.

http://ajaishukla.blogspot.in/2013/02/rafales-july-take-off.html

Rafale: everything goes well

[…]”Everything is going well,” says a source close to the case even if there is little chance that this contract to be signed, despite the willingness of Indian the Air Force and authorities before the end of the fiscal year which ends in late March. The visit of François Hollande (February 14 and 15) ,revealed by Challenges, will not be the opportunity to sign this mégacontrat. Dassault Aviation expects rather a contract this summer or year-end, according to our information. Not later because the elections are scheduled in India in May 2014. Three months before the election date, no contract of this magnitude will be signed. In December, the Ministry of Defence of India had publicly and plainly stated that “the MMRCA contract has not been finalized so far because the negotiations are ongoing.”

The challenge for Dassault Aviation is to organize the vast transfer of technologies required by New Delhi in good conditions for Indians and in conditions of reasonable safety for the Rafale Team (Dassault Aviation, Thales and Safran). This is far from simple. Finding Indian suppliers for such a contract is a big challenge … and time consuming. So, Dassault Aviation discusses step by step financial guarantees in case of failure of local suppliers.[…]

http://www.latribune.fr/entreprises-finance/industrie/aeronautique-defense/20130205trib000747034/rafale-dassault-vise-un-contrat-signe-en-inde-cet-ete.html

India’s Rafale fighter jets purchase not delayed due to budget cuts – minister
Feb 6 (R euters) – India’s purchase of French Rafale fighter jets are not delayed because of New Delhi’s budget cuts this year, including those affecting defence, Defence Minister A.K. Antony said on Wednesday.
India picked the Rafale fighter jets, made by Dassault Aviation, in 2012 and price negotiations are proceeding. Antony was speaking at an air show in the southern Indian city of Bangalore. (Reporting by Anurag Kotoky and Ananthalakshmi Ananthsankar.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/rafale-fighter-jets-purchase-not-delayed-due-to-budget-cuts-a-k-antony/articleshow/18365516.cms

HAL Getting Ready to Build Rafale Assembly PlantBANGALORE–Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. has begun “advanced preparations” to build a facility to assemble Dassault Aviation Rafale fighter jets in India, the state-run company’s chairman said Wednesday.[…]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324590904578287521891058956.html

Rafale deal “highest priority” in India FY14 budget: air force chief
India’s agreement to buy 126 Rafale fighter jets from France’s Dassault Aviation (AVMD.PA) is of the “highest priority” in India’s budget for the upcoming financial year that begins in April, Air Chief Marshal N.A.K. Browne said on Thursday[…]

http://www.*******.com/article/2013/…91607H20130207

detail of first rafale strikes :

Rafale destroyed targets in northern Mali
R-euters, Jan 13

PARIS, Jan. 13 (*******) – Four Rafale fighter planes coming from France targeted and destroyed several targets Sunday, including logistics depots of Islamist rebels in northern Mali, near Gao, announced the French Ministry of defense.

“The French fighters targeted and destroyed this Sunday, January 13th, multiple targets in northern Mali near Gao, including training camps, infrastructure and logistics depots constituting the rear bases of the terrorist groups,” one can read in a statement.

“This mission was carried out by four Rafale which flew from France and will reinforce the French presence,” says the text, confirming the information provided by witnesses in the area.

“The aim of France is to lead a relentless struggle against terrorist groups, preventing any new offensive of these groups to the south of Mali, threatening the stability of this friendly country, and reducing their capacity wherever it will necessary, “the statement said. (Yves Clarisse)

other news from india :

India positive about Rafale’s purchase contract
R_euters, Jan 10

PARIS, Jan. 10 (*******) – The details of the contract for the purchase by India of 126 Rafale combat aircraft from Dassault Aviation are “being settled”, said Thursday in Paris the Indian Minister of Foreign Affairs Salman Khurshid.

“We know that good French wine takes time to mature and it is the same for good deals,” he said after a meeting with French Foreign Minister, Laurent Fabius. “The contract details are being resolved,a decision has already been taken.”

The Indian minister was apparently referring to the decision by India in early 2012 to begin exclusive negotiations with Dassault Aviation.

“Things are progressing well,” said Laurent Fabius. (Alexandria Sage, edited by Yves Clarisse)

Brazil criticizes Rafale’s high maintenance costs

La Tribune, Jan 8

“If Brazil had to select a fighter at the end of last year, the Rafale would have not been selected,” says a great connoisseur of Brazil to “La Tribune”.[…]
[So],the lights are orange for the Rafale. That does not mean [Rafale] is out of the game, far from it. But “the French offer must be better explained or otherwise improved,” one says to “La Tribune.” What’s wrong with the French proposal? Maintenance costs and the cost per flight hour of the jet are considered too high in Brazil, especially in the Air Force … where, howewer, there are many supporters of the Rafale. “This is the most technologically advanced aircraft, this is the best” one says. “We have many things to learn from a cooperation with Dassault Aviation.” But compared to the Gripen, a single engine, whose latest version does not exist but which advances delirious flight hour costs (4,500 euros), Brazilians believe that the maintenance cost of the Rafale remains high. “the full budget will go to maintenance,” one hears in Brazil. As for the F/A-18 Hornet (Boeing), another rival for the Rafale, it benefits from euro / dollar rate to be competitive with the French aircraft.

“To maintain a Rafale permanently, we need seven or eight mechanics”, explained at the beginning of last year, the former Chief of Staff of the Airforce, General Jean-Paul Palomeros. For some of our competitors it’s almost twice. So the maintenance cost of the aircraft is thereby reduced. “It was one of the primary criteria in the design of the plane. ” Dassault Aviation, explains that the number of mechanics can drop to 4. According to experts, the Rafale had a cost of 39,000 euros per flight hour (2006 cost, prior to the use of the new M88-4E). According to the Ministry of Defence, it was reduced to 10,000 euros per flight hour for Rafale C and B, and 7,000 euros for Rafale M in 2012. So , is it a simple lack of explanation? Possible. “Dassault Aviation rivals seems much criticizing the Rafale folder under that angle,” one says. “Dassault must better communicate about maintenance costs and costs per flight hour.”

Rafale has real assets

In addition to its technological lead over its rivals, the Rafale is again supported by a propicious environment between France and Brazil. The two days visit to Paris of Dilma Rousseff has been very positive, and contact with François Hollande went well . Brasilia keeps a geopolitical preference for Paris, solidarity between middle powers playing fully. In addition, Brazil says he is very satisfied with the cooperation with France in the naval field. “It was not a foregone conclusion”, one says to “La Tribune”. DCNS naval group did a good job under the Prosub (sale of submarines) contract that is working well. “It helps France,” one says. Which is a guarantee of reliability for the Rafale for which significant transfers of technology are planned. And exclusive negotiations between Dassault Aviation and India are also followed closely by a Brazilian team. And linally, there is a compatibility between the Brazilian aircraft carrier (the Sao Paulo, former Foch) and the Charles de Gaulle which increase the attractiveness of the Rafale to Brazil, including the navy version that might strongly interest Brasilia […]
[…]

http://www.latribune.fr/entreprises-finance/industrie/aeronautique-defense/20130107trib000741052/le-bresil-reproche-au-rafale-son-cout-de-maintenance-eleve.html

Finally a maintenance estimates that does sound more realistic compared to the gripen which makes the rafale more competitive.

It will be interesting to see the exact configuration of those T3 typhoons.

Hopefully with an AESA radar, if not it would be quite wierd taking delivery of old fashioned mech radar as late as 2017 when AESA is now a standard option on export markets.

Same goes for AtG weaponnery as it would be hard to imagine a country being satisfied with current narrow array of AtG weapons integrated.

I bet that Oman could be the first export customer of a “mature” typhoon with Saudi Arabia as a follow on.

But who knows with this kind of political deals ? Logic can be tortuous.

PS : a normal T3 would be in my opinion AESA + more AtG integrated the rest seems a bit more speculative and especially the TVC. CFTs would be nice though to turn the typhoon in a potent multirole platform.