Fresh from three weeks of gruelling drills that involved all operational commands, the Air Force says it's ready for a two-front war (the brass prefers ...
07:39 PM, Apr 22, 2013
New Delhi: India's plan to buy 126 fighter-jets from Dassault Aviation could be delayed as the two sides struggle to reach an agreement over the role of state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), two sources familiar with the matter said. India picked the Dassault-made Rafale jet for exclusive negotiations in January 2012 after a hotly contested bidding war with rival manufacturers, but it is still to finalise the Rs 1500 crore...
11:42 PM, Apr 05, 2013
Defence Minister AK Antony said on Tuesday it was "too early" to consider the possibility of foul play in a planned $10 billion deal with France's Dassault Aviation for Rafale war planes. ...
04:53 PM, Feb 19, 2013
A new angle has now been uncovered in the AgustaWestland chopper deal. CNN-IBN has accessed French court documents which reveal that Christian Michel, the man accused of taking 60 per cent of kickbacks in the AgustaWestland 101 helicopter deal, was involved in earlier defence deals in India too. ...
06:11 PM, Feb 15, 2013
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Thursday that India and France reviewed major deals for fighter jets and nuclear reactors during French President Francoi Hollande's first day in the country. The Prime Minister also discussed Afghanistan and Pakistan issues with the French President who is currently on a two-day visit. ...
02:30 PM, Feb 14, 2013
India and France are speeding up negotiations on a $10 billion deal for 126 Rafale aircraft following months of delays because of disagreements over the cost of building them in India, two Indian Defence Ministry officials said. India started exclusive talks with French Dassault Aviation's Rafale for a 126-plane order in January 2012, over the competing Eurofighter Typhoon. ...
12:42 PM, Feb 14, 2013
French President Francois Hollande, who arrived in New Delhi on Thursday to begin his two-day trip, will hope to seal a multi-billion dollar contract with India on Rafale fighter jets. President Pranab Mukherjee hosted a ceremonial reception for Hollande at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. ...
12:30 PM, Feb 14, 2013
French President Francois Hollande is on a two-day visit to India and is expected to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday. This is Hollande's first visit to an Asian country. ...
08:00 AM, Feb 14, 2013
Enhancing cooperation in the key areas of defence, nuclear energy, counter-terrorism and trade will be focus of French President Francois Hollande's first visit to New Delhi but $ 10-billion deal for Rafale fighter aircraft will not be inked during his two-day stay starting Thursday. ...
06:17 PM, Feb 11, 2013
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on February 11 that talks with India to finalise the purchase of French Rafale war planes were looking up. ...
11:57 AM, Feb 11, 2013
The armed forces may have to trim some of their ambitious weapons procurement plans after indications that the defence budget could be cut by around four to five per cent if not more, as part of Finance Minister P Chidambaram's plans to lower the deficit. ...
11:31 AM, Feb 01, 2013
India is ironing out contract details on a purchase of French Rafale fighter jets that has been under negotiation over the past year, Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid said during a visit to Paris on Thursday, suggesting that a deal could be close. ...
11:21 PM, Jan 10, 2013
New Delhi: Addressing questions raised over the process of selecting Rafale fighter planes, Government is going ahead with the procurement of 126 French combat aircraft and effort is being made to complete the deal within this financial year. Contract negotiations for the multi-billion dollar deal will resume soon, Government sources said. Questions had been raised over the process by an MP besides some other quarters but a committee of independent...
05:43 AM, Aug 27, 2012
New Delhi: Addressing questions raised over the process of selecting Rafale fighter planes, the government is going ahead with the procurement of 126 French combat aircraft and effort is being made to complete the deal within this financial year. Contract negotiations for the multi-billion dollar deal will resume soon, government sources said. Questions had been raised over the process by an MP besides some other quarters but a committee of...
12:40 PM, Aug 26, 2012
New Delhi: A senior Russian official has hinted that India could cancel the results of the Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) tender and refloat it. A report in the The Hindu newspaper quoted Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Vyacheslav Dzirkaln as saying that India and France had failed to reach agreement on crucial issues including technology transfer and financial terms. Dzirkaln indicated that Russia would bid again if the tender was...
10:46 AM, Aug 22, 2012
Bangalore: Selection of French fighter Rafale as the multi-role medium combat aircraft (MMRCA) for the Indian Air Force (IAF) was final and the price negotiations were under way, Minister of State for Defence MM Pallam Raju said on Friday. "The decision to purchase Rafale is final and we are in the stage of price negotiations," Raju told reporters on the margins of a defence expo here. Clarifying that there were...
01:19 AM, Mar 03, 2012
London: The UK-based defence major BAE Systems is considering lowering the price of its Eurofighter Typhoon to win back the $ 11 billion Indian contract for 126 combat jets from France's Dassault Rafale. Quoting BAE's Chief Executive Ian King, the Daily Telegraph said the company was considering a range of options to secure the deal to supply the fighter jets, which could prevent a major industrial setback for Britain. BAE...
02:22 AM, Feb 08, 2012
New Delhi: Despite public unease and opposition from UK's Conservative MPs, the British government has decided to go ahead with its aid commitments to India. The British MPs had questioned the need to give aid to a prosperous India when they're battling an economic crisis back home. The row deepened after the 'The Sunday Telegraph' carried a statement quoting Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee equating British aid to peanuts in 2010....
06:44 AM, Feb 07, 2012
New Delhi: Days after four-nation European consortium EADS including UK lost the bid for 126 fighter deal with India, Britain on Monday took up the matter with authorities in New Delhi insisting that its combat aircraft Eurofighter was better than the selected one - Rafale. UK's Minister for International Security Strategy Gerald Howarth took up the issue of India's decision to select the French Rafale aircraft during delegation-level meeting with...
12:15 AM, Feb 07, 2012
New Delhi: Major parties on Monday took strong exception to demands in the UK for stopping aid to India, with Opposition BJP saying that the country did not require such help and should give a befitting reply to the "arrogance" of a section of the British political class by refusing it. But despite demands by ruling Conservative party MPs and others to end it, Britain on Monday defended its multi-million...
10:04 PM, Feb 06, 2012
