http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/5922_91…02200000104.htm
Air Chief: Mirage deal to be renegotiated
Vishal Thapar
New Delhi, July 31
The contract for the acquisition of 10 Mirage 2000 multi-role jet fighters for the Air Force will be renegotiated, Air Chief Marshal S. Krishnaswamy said on Friday. The fighters are meant to be replacements for ‘wastages’.
The jets are reportedly lying in a ready-to-fly condition in France but have been mothballed due to a contractual dispute with India.
The contract was signed with French aviation company Dassault in 2001, with delivery of 10 aircraft of the type already flown by the IAF scheduled within a few years. Delivery will now be delayed pending re-negotiation of the contract.
The IAF operates two Mirage 2000 squadrons. They were acquired in the mid-’80s. The Mirage squadrons are now short of 10 fighters, which have been lost either to accidents or otherwise rendered unfit for flying.
Krishnaswamy says the contract has to be amended as certain parts, like the Tactical Air Navigator on the replacement aircraft, don’t match the specifications stipulated in the contract. “The contract has to be renegotiated to incorporate this amendment.”
TACAN not upto the mark..
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