NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND, PATUXENT RIVER, Md. – Marine Corps Maj. C. R. “Jimi” Clift flies F-35B Joint Strike Fighter test aircraft BF-3 Dec. 19, 2011 with a 1,000-lb inert test GBU-32 in an open internal weapons bay for loads testing. Significant weapons testing for the F-35B and F-35C variants is scheduled for 2012, including fit checks, captive carriage, pit drop and aerial drop tests.
The Dassault Rafale is a French twin-engine delta-wing multi-role jet fighter aircraft designed and built by Dassault Aviation. It is called an "omnirole" fighter by its manufacturer.
Development of the Rafale began in the late 1970s when the French Air Force and Navy were seeking replacements for its aircraft. France tied up with four other countries to produce an air dominance fighter. However, due to disagreements, the venture failed.
To satisfy the Ministry of Defense's stringent criteria, Dassault built a technology demonstrator to prove the viability of its new product. Once approved, further developments led to the current Rafale variants.
Introduced in 2000, the Rafale is being produced both for land-based use with the French Air Force and for carrier-based operations with the French Navy.
Once the price negotiations with Dassault Aviation are finalised, the Rafale will fulfil the Indian Air Force's requirement for a Medium Multirole Combat Aircraft (MMRCA).
At one level, there is nothing surprising about the decision of the government to begin price negotiations with the Dassault company to purchase their Rafale to fulfill the Indian Air Force's requirement a Medium Multirole Combat Aircraft (MMRCA).
Once the IAF decided that it wanted the best fighter, not necessarily the most economical, it was clear that choice would be between Eurofighter Typhoon and Rafale.
According to analysts, it is the better multi-role fighter than its nearest competitor, the Eurofighter, and slightly cheaper. So following the "L1" criterion that the government usually follows, of accepting the lowest bid, the Rafale has been chosen.
Given the stringent technical criteria that the IAF insisted on, there should be no doubt that the Rafale will be a first-class fighter and that it is as good as the Eurofighter in the air-to-air role, and somewhat superior to it in the air-to-ground role. The issue, rather, will relate to costs.
Already the original MMRCA deal, which was supposed to be for $ 10.4 billion, has ballooned to $ 20 billion- plus for 126 aircrafts. The final bill will only be known after the price negotiation process is done.
The MMRCA competition was a somewhat peculiar one. How do you reconcile putting aircraft like the small single engined Jas 39 Gripen and the F-16 against the heavy twin engined Eurofighter and Rafale? Initially, the requirement seemed to be to meet the needs of the Light Combat Aircraft, which had been delayed.
But clearly, including the heavy multi-role fighters changed that mission. From the outset, the air force had been talking about the need to worry about 'life cycle costs' (LCC) of the fighter they were going to buy.
But how could they compare the LCC of the light fighters with that of the heavy ones? Only in the end did the IAF decide that they wanted a heavy, twin-engined fighter and they shortlisted the latter two aircraft last year. And now they have decided in favour of the Rafale.
The issue of life cycle costs will not go away even now. When the Rafale comes in, it will be in addition to an existing fleet of Su-30MKIs, MiG-29s, Mirage 2000s, Jaguars and other aircraft. Over the years, the IAF has realised the high price they have had to pay for this multiplicity of types.
This is an era when air forces have been sharply reducing their aircraft types to keep costs down.
It is no secret that India will be the first country, after France, to have decided to operate this fighter. This means that a substantial part of the development costs of the aircraft will be borne by us. The Rafale is still in the beginning stage of its development cycle.
Three countries have considered acquiring the Rafale, come close to it, and then backed out - Brazil, UAE and Switzerland. The parsimonious Swiss decided that the Rafale was too expensive and are looking for a cheaper alternative.
As for the UAE, last November, Sheikh Mohammed, deputy of the UAE's armed forces, said that the Dassault offer was "uncompetitive and unworkable [in] commercial terms". The UAE was angered by the French demands of Euro 2 billion to develop the fighter.
Now, the French have the rich Indians to do what the poor Arabs and the Swiss could not afford.
What India needs to worry about is the cost of running its air force. It already has a large number of twin engine fighters and will get more in the form of the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) from Russia.
Indeed, with the Rafale joining squadron service, the air force will be top- heavy because there will not be enough light fighters which can carry out combat air patrols on the cheap.
The air force is making its bed, but it is the taxpayer of the country that has to sleep on it.
While final negotiations between Dassault and the MoD are still to take place, it appears that the size of mega deal could be above Rs 75,000 crore.
The Rafale fighter aircraft built by France’s Dassault Aviation has emerged the lowest bidder in the contest to sell the Indian Air Force (IAF) 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft. According to sources in the defence ministry, the Rafale has emerged marginally cheaper than its rival fighter, the Typhoon, fielded by a four-nation consortium, Eurofighter.
In reaching this conclusion, the IAF has calculated the Rafale would be cheaper than the Typhoon to buy, manufacture and fly over its entire four-decade service life. No prices have been made available, but MoD sources say the Rafale would cost some Rs 25 crore less than the Typhoon apiece.
The ministry did not respond to phone calls, an email and an SMS request for official confirmation.
However, Dassault sources confirm the ministry has informed the company that it has emerged the lowest bidder. Dassault remains unwilling to share details of its winning bid. A ministry committee, the Contract Negotiation Committee or CNC, will now engage with Dassault to hammer down the price before signing a contract.
The ministry had initially budgeted Rs 42,000 crore as the total cost of the 126-fighter contract. Ministry sources say India will, in fact, pay substantially more than that. The final deal size is subject to negotiations, and could go up to Rs 75,000 crore.
Dassault will be required to supply 18 “made-in-France” Rafales in three-four years. After that, manufacturing will progressively shift to Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, Bangalore, which will build a new manufacturing line for the Rafale.
The Indian contract is a lifeline to the beleaguered French company, which has so far failed to sell a single Rafale fighter abroad.
The French air force and navy have cut down their initially projected requirement of 336 fighters; so far, they have ordered just 180 Rafales. In a TV interview last month, France’s Defence Minister, Gerard Longuet, declared the Rafale production line would shut down if no foreign orders were forthcoming.
India will be the foreign buyer that resuscitates that production line. Muammar Gaddafi’s Libya had declared its interest in buying Rafales, but was overtaken by history. Ironically, the Rafale flew sorties against Gaddafi’s militia during the Libyan civil war last year. Brazil was earlier on the verge of ordering 36 Rafales, but new Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff does not share the pro-Dassault enthusiasm of her predecessor Luiz Inacio de Silva.
The Rafale will eventually equip six squadrons of the IAF, each authorised 21 fighters. It is a delta-wing fighter with canards, which make it highly manoeuvrable and also allow it to land at speeds as low as 200 kmph. This makes it suitable for aircraft carrier operations, a key advantage over the Typhoon.
The fighter needs just 1,300-1,400 feet of runway to get airborne, an advantage in operating from air bases close to the border. Two Snecma M88 engines power the Rafale, allowing it to “supercruise” or fly at supersonic speeds without using afterburners. A key system is the Thales Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, which is still under development. The Indian contract demands transfer of technology for the AESA radar.
The order of 126 Rafales caters only to the IAF’s requirement. The Indian Navy, too, has expressed interest in the Rafale (amongst several other fighters) for its aircraft carrier fleet. While the INS Vikramaditya (formerly, the Russian Gorshkov) will deploy MiG-29K fighters, the under-construction Indigenous Aircraft Carrier, with another vessel to follow, will also require carrier-borne fighters. A naval version of the indigenous Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) is close to flying. However, there is likely to be an additional requirement for heavy fighters like the Rafale for the naval fleet. Experts have forecast India would eventually acquire about 200 medium multi-role combat aircraft.
The IAF evaluated six fighters for this massive contract -- Boeing’s F/A-18 Super Hornet; Lockheed Martin’s F-16IN Super Viper; the Russian MiG-35; the Swedish Gripen NG; the Rafale and the Typhoon. After flight trials in 2010 and early 2011, the Rafale and the Typhoon were shortlisted in April 2011. Commercial bids from Dassault Aviation and Eurofighter GmbH were opened in November 2011. The IAF’s evaluation and selection processes have won widespread acclaim from aviation watchers worldwide.
President Sarkozy has learned of India’s selection of the Rafale with a view to the Indian air force acquiring 126 fighter planes.
France welcomes the Indian government’s decision to select the French plane and enter into exclusive negotiations with Dassault. This announcement comes following a very high-level, fair and transparent competition between two European finalists. The Rafale was selected thanks to the competitiveness of its total cost over the aircraft’s lifetime, after being shortlisted in April 2011 on the basis of its top-level operational qualities.
Negotiation of the contract will begin very shortly, with the French authorities’ full support. It will include major technology transfers guaranteed by the French state.
The implementation of the Rafale project will illustrate the depth and breadth of the strategic partnership between France and India.
