MMRCA, Aviation Week analysis

©Dassault Aviation - A. Hernoult

Indian fighter competion nears final

The winner of the Indian air force’s $12 billion Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) fighter competition should soon emerge, as the government is set to formally begin the process of identifying the lowest bidder in early September.

The Eurofighter Typhoon and Dassault Rafale are the final contenders left in the race and Indian government officials have finalized how they will judge offset and industrial participation offers that are crucial in deciding which company will be chosen to supply the initial order for 126 fighters. However, a defense ministry official indicates that the air force wants contractual options to be exercised immediately, which would boost the buy to 189 fighters and the program value to almost $20 billion.[...]


bullet points :

• Formula has been found to benchmark the offers to provide a like-for-like comparison.
• Offset packages review almost completed 
• 50% offsets requirement (at least $6 billion) one of the most challenging in recent aerospace contracting.
• India’s aerospace industry not considered mature enough to absorb all offsets.
• Dassault and Eurofighter confident that their packages meet what is required.
• Eurofighter and Dassault have insisted that their bids are competitive
• The local MMRCA team offices of the four eliminated contenders remain fully staffed: officials at all four believe that things are delicate enough in the final phase for them to remain in the country.
• If commercial bids are examinated next month, lowest bidder could be named in November-December and a contract signed before the end of March. 

 Read the full article in Aviation Week 

In the press, Rafale on Air Forces Monthly's cover

First, if you read French, don't miss the July issue of Air fan (N°392). The main article is about the french Navy air fleet engagment in Libya

Also available is the september issue of Air Forces Monthly featuring an analysis of the Rafale-Typhoon confrontation for the Indian MMRCA market. This is the first time since november 2007 that the Rafale is on the cover of the most famous military aircraft magazine... almost a collector ;)

UAE, a deal before the end of the year ?

Aug 5 (Reuters) - Negotiations have resumed to sell Dassault Aviation's Rafale fighterjets to the United Arab Emirates, and a deal could be sealed between September and the end of the year, French daily La Tribune said on Friday.

FX-2, Brazilian Defense minister Nelson Jobim resigns.

Celso Amorim (right), is the new Brazilan Defense Minister

Because of several dissensions with President Dilma Rousseff, the Brasilian Defense Minister has resigned yesterday August 4th.

Nelson Jobim resignation could be seen as a bad omen for the Rafale as he was a strong supporter of the French offer within the Brazilian government. Nevertheless, his successor, Celso Amorim is also known to have recommended the Dassault fighter. Therefore, the preference of Brazilian Defense Ministry may remain the same despite this political change.

Source : AFP

Libya, The CdG takes some rest

After 9 months of almost non stop operations (4 months, Indian Ocean / 5 months, Libya) the Charles de Gaulle will stop, August 10th, for several weeks at the Toulon harbor for maintenance purposes.

The 6 Rafale M which were operating over Libya from the aircraft carrier will be replaced by 6 French Air Force Rafale B/C on the Sigonella Air Base, Sicily.

The CdG crew has demonstrated its outstanding endurance capacity since last November. Without any doubt, they deserve those few weeks of "vacations".

source : Reuters

Rafale is back to Afghanistan

3 Rafale from the 01.007 Provence Squadron have arrived in Afghanistan. They are replacing the 3 Mirage F1CR which were deployed on the Kandahar AB for the last 3 years.

The last Rafale Afghan campaign was in November-December 2010 from the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier.






During the last 10 years, the Rafale has been deployed 8 times to Afghanistan :

2002 : Rafale M F1 (Air policing and air refueling)
2004 : Rafale M F1 (Air policing and air refueling)
2006 : Rafale M F1 (Air policing and air refueling)
2007 : Rafale M F2 and Rafale B/C F2 (CAS)
2008 : Rafale B/C F2 (CAS)
2009 : Rafale B/C F2 (CAS)  
2010 : Rafale M F3 (CAS and Recce)
2011 : Rafale B/C F3 (CAS and Recce)

Source : http://www.defense.gouv.fr/

MMRCA deal at risk ?

According to Ajai Shukla, from Broadsword blog, the Indian contest may very well be scraped if the 2 finalist's bids turn out to be too high.

[...] If the MoD committee that is currently benchmarking the MMRCA concludes that Rs 42,000 crore is a decade-old estimation that should be increased due to inflation by 50%, the benchmark for that contract will be pegged at Rs 63,000 crore. When the Eurofighter’s and Dassault’s bids are opened, if both turn out to be notably higher, the MoD will scrap the MMRCA tender. On the other hand, if the lower bid is less than or approximates the benchmark, that bid will be accepted.
[...]
Dassault’s quote for 126 MMRCAs could be as much as $20 billion, twice the initially estimated figure.

Aerospace industry estimations put the cost of the Eurofighter Typhoon about 25% higher than the Rafale. That would put the cost of 126 Typhoons at about $25 billion.

The Indian price bids, however, involve a different calculation. The South Block tender demands price quotes on a “life-cycle” basis, a complex and detailed format that factors in the cost of 126 fighters over their estimated service life of 40 years. Bids are broken down into seven heads --- M-1 to M-7 --- and include the fly-away cost of the fighter; cost of spare parts; operating costs; cost of inspections and maintenance; transfer of technology; and training expenses. The final figure, M-8, is the overall cost, reached by adding up M-1 to M-7.

Executives from Rafale and Eurofighter agree that Rs 42,000 crore is an outdated price and that the survival of the MMRCA contract now depends upon how much higher the MoD is willing to raise the benchmark.

[...]


Read the full analyzis on Broadsword