The French Rafale twin-engine multi-role fighter has been knocked off a $10-billion contract for 126 combat aircraft for the Indian Air Force. One of six contenders, Rafale was officially rejected by the Ministry of Defence for what an official called the failure to meet qualitative requirements of the contract.

The IAF has been maintaining that all six contenders — American F-18 and F-16, Eurofighter Typhoon, Russian MiG-35, Swedish Gripen NG and the Rafale — for the Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) contract have met technical requirements.

But a senior official of the Ministry of Defence today said that Dassault Aviation's Rafale was rejected at the technical evaluation stage for failing to meet minimum performance requirements detailed in the tender document. Flight trials for the remaining five fighters are expected to commence within three months, the official said.

“They (Rafale) did not meet the requirements and will not proceed to the next stage. We hope to begin trials within three months with the others that have qualified,” the official said.

The French fighter, always an underdog in the competition for what is considered the largest international defence contract, was aggressively pushed by the French government. Former President Jacques Chirac and successor Nicolas Sarkozy spoke about the fighter in their interactions with India.

Incidentally, a separate contract, valued at close to $2 billion, for the upgrade of the IAF Mirage fighter fleet has also been stuck for several months with India and France still in commercial negotiations. While the IAF requires an urgent upgrade, the price being quoted by France for the upgrade of over 50 fighters has been a dampener.

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