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French Rafale jet beats Eurofighter in $10bn India deal | French Rafale jet beats Eurofighter in $10bn India deal |
(40 minutes later) | |
French firm Dassault has emerged as the lowest bidder for a $10bn (£6.3bn) contract to supply India fighter jets. | |
Dassault Aviation will now enter final negotiations before signing the deal that will supply India's air force with 126 Rafale aircraft. | |
Correspondents say this is one of the world's biggest defence deals and is a major setback for rival bidder, the Eurofighter Typhoon. | Correspondents say this is one of the world's biggest defence deals and is a major setback for rival bidder, the Eurofighter Typhoon. |
Eurofighter lost out in December on an $8bn deal to supply jets to Japan. | Eurofighter lost out in December on an $8bn deal to supply jets to Japan. |
Shares in Dassault Aviation rocketed more than 20% as the latest news broke. | |
'Purely cost' | |
Officials at the British High Commission in Delhi said they were disappointed with the decision and would now study the details. | Officials at the British High Commission in Delhi said they were disappointed with the decision and would now study the details. |
They added: "It was expressly said this was about the cost of the contract, not a reflection on the health of bilateral relations between India and the countries." | |
The officials said they "genuinely believed the [Eurofighter] Typhoon offered the best capability now and in the future". | The officials said they "genuinely believed the [Eurofighter] Typhoon offered the best capability now and in the future". |
They also said it was "not beyond imagination" that India might decide the Rafale was not the right option as it continued the process. | They also said it was "not beyond imagination" that India might decide the Rafale was not the right option as it continued the process. |
French Minister of State for Foreign Trade Pierre Lellouche welcomed the deal, the first foreign order for the Rafale multi-role jet. | |
He said: "This is good news and France needs good news right now... It is good news for our aerospace industry and for our defence industry." | |
Mr Lellouche also complained that "political pressure applied by our competitors does not make things very easy". | |
Indian Defence Minister AK Antony had earlier cautioned that this remained a "long process" and that no deal would be signed before the end of March. | |
One Indian defence ministry source confirmed to Reuters that the Rafale had been "much cheaper unit-wise", adding: "Moreover, the Indian air force, which is well-equipped with French fighters, is favouring the French." | |
The Typhoon is built by the German and Spanish branches of European aerospace giant EADS, Britain's BAE Systems and Italy's Finmeccanica. | |
Four other bidders had dropped out in the lengthy Indian selection process. |