Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar today informed the Upper House that the multi-billion dollar tender for the 126 Medium Multi Role Combat Aircrafts (MMRCA), for which RAFALE was shortlisted in 2012, was withdrawn. "The Request for Proposal (RfFP) issued earlier for the procurement of 126 MMRCA has been withdrawn," Parrikar said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha (the Council of States). "In the multi-vendor procurement case, the RAFALE aircraft met all the performance characteristics stipulated in the RfP during the evaluation conducted by the Indian Air Force."
The move comes just months after the Defence Minister indicated that the over $20 billion MMRCA tender has virtually been scrapped after the government decided to purchase 36 RAFALEs under a government-to-government contract, where talks have already commenced. Under the terms of purchase, the first 18 MMRCA aircraft were supposed to come in a 'fly away' condition while the remaining 108 manufactured under Transfer of Technology. While initially the tender was valued at about $10 billion for 126 aircraft, the current price is estimated to be over $20 billion.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had in April announced purchase of 36 RAFALE fighter aircraft in fly-away condition from the French government directly, sidestepping the grueling three-year negotiations for the MMRCA tender.
The original RfP for the procurement of 126 MMRCA, at a then estimated cost of Rs.42,000 crores, was issued in 2007 to six vendors: Boeing F/A-18 Super HORNET, Dassault RAFALE, Eurofighter TYPHOON, Lockheed Martin F-16 FALCON, Mikoyan MIG-35, and Saab JAS-39 GRIPEN.
The move comes just months after the Defence Minister indicated that the over $20 billion MMRCA tender has virtually been scrapped after the government decided to purchase 36 RAFALEs under a government-to-government contract, where talks have already commenced. Under the terms of purchase, the first 18 MMRCA aircraft were supposed to come in a 'fly away' condition while the remaining 108 manufactured under Transfer of Technology. While initially the tender was valued at about $10 billion for 126 aircraft, the current price is estimated to be over $20 billion.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had in April announced purchase of 36 RAFALE fighter aircraft in fly-away condition from the French government directly, sidestepping the grueling three-year negotiations for the MMRCA tender.
The original RfP for the procurement of 126 MMRCA, at a then estimated cost of Rs.42,000 crores, was issued in 2007 to six vendors: Boeing F/A-18 Super HORNET, Dassault RAFALE, Eurofighter TYPHOON, Lockheed Martin F-16 FALCON, Mikoyan MIG-35, and Saab JAS-39 GRIPEN.
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