Amid reports that talks with negotiations for Rafale fighter aircraft were about to fall through, Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha on Thursday stated that Sukhoi is not a replacement for Rafale as their capabilities are different.
“For Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft and Sukhoi-30, the requirements are slightly different. And they have their own capabilities. They complement each other but do not replace each other,” Air Chief Marshal Raha said.
Agreeing that the legacy fighters in the force are a concern and need quick replacement, he said they need the Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA), under which Rafale has been shortlisted, in the “quickest possible time because drawdown is true.”
But at the same time, adding credence to reports of the deal falling through, Chief Marshal Raha said they need a replacement, which does not necessarily mean the MMRCA. “Rafale has been elected as the L1 (lowest bidder)… We are not saying we need the Rafale or the MMRCA but we need a replacement,” he said.
Earlier Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said India would buy more Sukhois from Russia in case the Rafale deal falls through.
Asked if there is a Plan B, he stressed that the Air Force has no Plan B and was working only on Plan A. Under MMRCA, India is to acquire 126 fighter aircraft, with 18 directly acquired and the remaining built by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) under Transfer of Technology.
Dasault Rafale was shortlisted as the L1 three years ago but both sides had disagreements on the guarantee of aircraft built by HAL. Also the cost has more than doubled to over $20 billion, including transfer of technology and cost escalations. The case is currently pending before the Contract Negotiating Committee (CNC) and on Wednesday Mr. Parrikar refused to comment on the issue but said a decision will be taken after the CNC submits its report in March.
Correction
>>In the second and fourth paragraphs of the report, “Sukhoi not a replacement for Rafale” (Feb. 20, 2015), Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha was erroneously referred to as Chief Marshal. It should have been Air Chief Marshal.
