(TheFinancialExpress) : Negotiations have begun between the Paris-based Dassault Aviation and New Delhi for upgrading the IAF’s fleet of Mirage 2000 aircraft. The upgrade is estimated to cost $2.2 billion. “The Mirage upgrade was finalised last year during the visit of the French President Nicolas Sarkozy,” a senior Indian Air Force (IAF) official said on condition of anonymity.
“While the formal contract has yet to be signed, the two sides have started negotiations for the MICA multi-mission air-to-air missile, the only missile in the world with two interoperable seekers (active radar and infrared imaging) to cover close-in dogfights and BVR (beyond visual range) for the Mirage upgrade.”
In March, by when the deal was expected to have been signed, IAF chief PV Naik had said that differences over price and legal issues had blocked progress, but since then, “negotiations have been concluded and the report has been submitted to the defence ministry”, the official cited earlier said.
While both sides are keen to get the project off the ground at the earliest, according to sources, discussions still needed to be concluded on the issue of the complement of weapons to be fitted on to the aircraft, which is to be upgraded to the Mirage 2000-5 MkII standard. The aim was to give the aircraft, inducted into the IAF in 1985-88, another 20-25 years of service life.
An Indo-French joint statement had said in December that “discussions concerning the upgrading of Mirage 2000 aircraft are expected to be finalised soon”. There has been no official word on the progress of the Mirage 2000 upgrade deal after that.
According to industry sources, while the cost of upgrading around 50 aircraft is already on the higher side, it is expected to go up by another $700 million if one considers the cost of procuring, integrating and clearing the armament of the upgraded aircraft.
“While the formal contract has yet to be signed, the two sides have started negotiations for the MICA multi-mission air-to-air missile, the only missile in the world with two interoperable seekers (active radar and infrared imaging) to cover close-in dogfights and BVR (beyond visual range) for the Mirage upgrade.”
In March, by when the deal was expected to have been signed, IAF chief PV Naik had said that differences over price and legal issues had blocked progress, but since then, “negotiations have been concluded and the report has been submitted to the defence ministry”, the official cited earlier said.
While both sides are keen to get the project off the ground at the earliest, according to sources, discussions still needed to be concluded on the issue of the complement of weapons to be fitted on to the aircraft, which is to be upgraded to the Mirage 2000-5 MkII standard. The aim was to give the aircraft, inducted into the IAF in 1985-88, another 20-25 years of service life.
An Indo-French joint statement had said in December that “discussions concerning the upgrading of Mirage 2000 aircraft are expected to be finalised soon”. There has been no official word on the progress of the Mirage 2000 upgrade deal after that.
According to industry sources, while the cost of upgrading around 50 aircraft is already on the higher side, it is expected to go up by another $700 million if one considers the cost of procuring, integrating and clearing the armament of the upgraded aircraft.
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