الرئيسية
NEW DELHI (AP) — India
is buying 126 French-made combat aircraft in a massive $11 billion deal
that will increase the might of the world's fourth largest air force
with the first exported Rafale jets, officials said Tuesday.
India
has become the world's biggest arms importer as an economic boom has
allowed it to push modernization of its military, and major arms
manufacturers are wooing the country as it replaces its obsolete
Soviet-era weapons and buys new equipment.
Dassault Aviation said it was honored to extend cooperation with India, which has a fleet of its older Mirage jets, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy welcomed India's decision.
Dassault
snapped up the €8.4 billion deal with the lower bid in a two-way
competition against the Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft, said an Indian
official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not
authorized to speak to reporters about the sensitive defense deal.
India's air force has around 700 fighter aircraft and is exceeded in size by the United States, Russia and China.
Growing
worries about China's fast-expanding military and the decades-old
mistrust of Pakistan have fueled India's impetus to add heft to its
defense forces.
"India needs to
bolster its fighting capabilities, particularly with long-range strike
aircraft," said Rahul Bedi, a defense analyst in New Delhi.
"India's concern is not just Pakistan, but the longer term threat posed by an aggressive China," Bedi said.
The Indian agreement is the first foreign deal for Dassault's Rafale fighter jets. Planes from Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin of the United States and from Russian and Swedish makers were dropped from consideration earlier for technical reasons.
is buying 126 French-made combat aircraft in a massive $11 billion deal
that will increase the might of the world's fourth largest air force
with the first exported Rafale jets, officials said Tuesday.
India
has become the world's biggest arms importer as an economic boom has
allowed it to push modernization of its military, and major arms
manufacturers are wooing the country as it replaces its obsolete
Soviet-era weapons and buys new equipment.
Dassault Aviation said it was honored to extend cooperation with India, which has a fleet of its older Mirage jets, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy welcomed India's decision.
Dassault
snapped up the €8.4 billion deal with the lower bid in a two-way
competition against the Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft, said an Indian
official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not
authorized to speak to reporters about the sensitive defense deal.
India's air force has around 700 fighter aircraft and is exceeded in size by the United States, Russia and China.
Growing
worries about China's fast-expanding military and the decades-old
mistrust of Pakistan have fueled India's impetus to add heft to its
defense forces.
"India needs to
bolster its fighting capabilities, particularly with long-range strike
aircraft," said Rahul Bedi, a defense analyst in New Delhi.
"India's concern is not just Pakistan, but the longer term threat posed by an aggressive China," Bedi said.
The Indian agreement is the first foreign deal for Dassault's Rafale fighter jets. Planes from Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin of the United States and from Russian and Swedish makers were dropped from consideration earlier for technical reasons.