Buying Rafale a bold move, deal game-changer, says Air Force chief BS Dhanoa

Air Force chief BS Dhanoa said the negotiations by the previous United Progressive Alliance government to purchase 126 Rafale jets had hit an impasse and could not be translated into a contract.

Indian Air Force (IAF) chief BS Dhanoa on Wednesday described the government’s decision to buy 36 Rafale fighters from France in a government-to-government deal as a “bold step” to scale up the IAF’s capabilities, and called the warplane a “game-changer” and a much-needed “booster dose” for the force, even as he questioned the ability of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to deliver warplanes on schedule.

Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa addresses a press conference ahead of the Air Force Day, at Akash Air Force Officer Mess, in New Delhi, on October 3, 2018.(Sonu Mehta / Hindustan Times)

Air Chief Marshal Dhanoa’s strong defence of the controversial deal comes against the backdrop of sharp attacks from the Congress-led Opposition that accuses the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government of negotiating an overpriced deal to buy fighters in flyaway condition from France. He said the negotiations by the previous United Progressive Alliance government to purchase 126 Rafale jets had hit an impasse.

It could not be translated into a contract, the air chief said.

“We could have kept negotiating and waiting for something to happen or withdrawn the request for proposal or go in for emergency purchase of 36 planes… The government took a bold step and bought 36 jets to offset the capabilities that the adversaries had been acquiring,” he said at his customary press conference ahead of Indian Air Force Day on October 8. The cost of the fighters was “reasonable and adequate,” he added.

The NDA government’s decision to enter into a deal with France was announced in April 2015 with the deal signed a little over a year later. This replaced the UPA regime’s decision to buy 126 Rafale aircraft, 108 of which were to be made in India by HAL using parts imported from France.

Dhanoa detailed the time overruns in several crucial HAL programmes, including the Sukhoi- 30s.

“Su 30 is three years behind, 25 jets are yet to be delivered. Jaguar Darin 3 is six years behind, Light Combat Aircraft (initial operational clearance configuration) is five years behind and the Mirage-2000 upgrade is two years behind,” Dhanoa said, describing the delays as a “slight lag” in the HAL’s delivery schedule.

Dhanoa was responding to questions on a September 20 HT report in which former HAL chairman T Suvarna Raju had said HAL could have built Rafale fighters in India had the government managed to close the original negotiations with Rafale maker Dassault Aviation for 126 fighters.

“Whether we are happy or unhappy with HAL is in an internal debate. It is not a public debate,” he said.

Asked if the IAF was consulted before the deal was announced in April 2015, he said, “The IAF was consulted at the appropriate level… The IAF had given the government some options, and it is the prerogative of the government to choose from those options.”

The air chief said the Rafale would give the IAF a significant combat edge in the region.

“As far as politics around Rafale is concerned, I will not comment. All that I can say is it’s a very good aircraft. And when it comes into the subcontinent it will be a game changer because it has got significant capabilities… better than what our regional adversaries have got. And it will also take care of the new aircraft they are likely to induct in the near future,” he said.

He said the Rafales and the S-400 air defence missile systems being bought from Russia were like a “booster dose” for the IAF that is grappling with shrinking numbers.

The Congress has also alleged that the NDA government selected Anil Ambani’s Reliance Group over HAL for an offset deal in the ₹59,000-crore purchase. Offset deals are struck between the seller and a local supplier directly, and the government has been stressing this fact.

On September 21, French website Mediapart quoted former French President Francois Hollande as saying that the Indian government had proposed the name of Anil Ambani’s Reliance Group as the offset partner, a claim that was denied by the government.

Dhanoa said it was for the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) to choose its offset partners and the government and the IAF had nothing to do with it. He said it was a corporate decision for the HAL whether it wanted to do offset work or not. He said 28 of the military’s ongoing 47 offset contracts were related to IAF deals. Together, the offset contracts amount to $ 11.48 billion.

Dhanoa said HAL’s share was only $427 million.

“And what’s most important is that the OEM that has to discharge the offset obligations has to select HAL,” he said.

On the charge that the fighter was overpriced, he said finance minister Arun Jaitley had given price details and the IAF was sticking to those figures. Jaitley had said the basic fighter was 9% cheaper than the one being negotiated in the previous deal for 126 jets and the overall cost per jet was 20% less.

He said, “It’s pure and simple logic… we have a cost negotiating committee that is already at a discovered price and I am sure that it will choose a new price that will be lower… it can never ever be higher.”

The government and the Congress have been trading charges over the deal almost every day.

“How can you go ahead for the 126 purchase when the main issue of transfer of technology and manufacturing of aircraft is not sorted out?” said Dhanoa.

The earlier deal fell through because Dassault could not guarantee that HAL would deliver the aircraft it was assembling on time. There was also a disparity between the time Dassault thought it should take HAL to make the planes in India, and the time HAL said it would take.