Dassault Aviation is on track to deliver Rafale aircraft to India, the head of the French military giant said on Friday. Eric Trappier, CEO of the company, said in an interview that the offset agreement was in “full compliance” with the defence rules of India.
“Controversies are always unfortunate, but we remain calm. Things are progressing rapidly,” Mr. Trappier told the French news agency AFP, explaining that the company expected to complete the production of infrastructure in India by 2019.
The head of Dassault Aviation said the offset contract was an “obligation” under the Indian defence procurement rules. “In full compliance with this regulation, Dassault Aviation therefore decided to set up the DRAL joint venture with Reliance and build a plant in Nagpur which should enable us to meet about 10% of these offset obligations.”
Mr. Trappier said his company was also in negotiations with about a hundred Indian companies and agreements had been signed with about 30 of them.
A temporary hangar for training personnel and storing tools for the production of the Rafale aircraft’s components was completed earlier this year, he said.
Work review
The statement from the top official came just hours before Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman landed in France on a tour that will include a survey of the current India-specific work at Dassault.
On Thursday, the company had emphasised that it chose Reliance as “offset partner” freely after a French media outlet claimed Dassault Aviation chose Reliance as its “offset partner” in a trade-off to get the Rafale aircraft deal.
In Paris, Ms. Sitharaman highlighted the government’s “Make in India” policy for the defence sector.
“Under the new framework for defence industry in India, we are hoping to meet our defence requirements within a framework of joint manufacturing and technology-driven partnerships”, said the Minister in her speech at the Institute of Strategic Research (IRSEM) in the French capital.
