Indian media publish materials about, that the delivery of Rafale aircraft from France under the previously concluded contract, It will be transferred on terms. Indian journalists write, what became known about this from two sources in the defense industry, wishing to remain anonymous.
The Hindustan Times reports, that the decision to postpone supplies was made by the French side in connection with the threat of the spread of coronavirus.
At the moment, the production line of the aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation has been completely stopped in France., at one of the enterprises of which they create fighters for the Indian Air Force. Quarantine at the French facility was initially declared before 31 Martha, but notes, what, likely, it will be extended for at least another 2 of the week.
Recall, what India previously ordered from France 36 Rafale fighters. It turned out, the amount of the contract is, that each plane will cost the Indian budget a huge amount - almost 200 million dollars. it, eg, twice the cost of the fifth generation fighter F-35. But in India they said, that this amount includes the supply of weapons, maintenance and training of flight personnel.
from posts:
The first batch of four Rafale aircraft was due to fly to base in India in May 2020 of the year, but the plan faced uncertainty due to the rapid spread of Covid-19.
The contact assumed the delivery of the second batch of fighters to India by February 2021 of the year, and the final batch of Rafale - by April 2022 of the year.
Manmohan Bahadur, Director General of Indian Aviation Research Center:
The transfer of supplies will not cause significant difficulties in updating the Indian Air Force fleet. I hope, the country's Air Force will cope with such a situation.
