In the backdrop of revelations that the Union government had waived of guarantees and anti-corruption clauses for France in the Rafale fighter aircraft deal , a senior Indian Air Force (IAF) officer said there were no pacts even in deals with Russia.
“There is no sovereign guarantee or integrity pact signed with Russians in the S-400 deal,” Air Marshal V.R. Chaudhari, Deputy Chief of Air Staff, said on Tuesday.
Responding to questions on the issue, Vice Chief of the Air Staff Air Marshal Anil Khosla said,“With Russia and the United States we have processes streamlined, while with others we are evolving the processes.”
Air Marshal Khosla was talking to the media on the IAF’s fire power demonstration ''Vayu Shakti'' at Pokhran ranges end of this week.
Another senior officer said on condition of anonymity that these clauses have not been there in any Inter-Governmental Agreements (IGA) in the last three decades.
Difference in nature of deals with all countries
However, there is a difference in the nature of deals with all these countries. In the case of Russia, all defence companies are state-owned and deals are signed with their State corporation, doing away with sovereign guarantee.
In the case of Rafale, while the deal is through an IGA with the French government, the supply protocols were signed with French companies that are privately-owned.
With the U.S., IGAs are through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) route of the Pentagon and there are no separate agreements with the industry that would warrant a sovereign guarantee.
