Eurofighters join the race for combat aircraft

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New Delhi, Nov 24: In a new twist to the Indian quest for the 126 medium range combat aircraft (MRCA), a fifth bidder has appeared on the scene nearly a year after the request for information were invited.

Officials attribute the sudden emergence of EADS offering its Eurofighter Typhoon for the prestigious Indian order as a strong bid to keep the American Lockheed Martin and Boeing out of contention.

They believe the German arm of EADS has primarily entered the fray to ensure that the wind blows in favour of the French. The four contenders so far were: two American companies including Lockheed Martin, Boeing, French company Dassault and Russian MiG.

However, talking to FE, Mahmut Turker, sales director, military aircraft EADS Defence and Security, said, “We are in New Delhi on a fact-finding mission and have had talks with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) as well other top government officials.”

The EADS team will be visiting Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and explore opportunities for possible expansion of existing ventures.

The Eurofighter Typhoon is a five-nation — Germany, France, Italy, the UK, and Spain — effort and still in the development stage but the visit at this juncture signals that the global company is trying to bag a contract that could be in the region of Rs 30,000 crore to replace ageing MiG-21 fighters.

Currently, French Dassault Aviation’s Mirage 2000-V is said to be the frontrunner in the race. But the German EADS team is understood to be making the point that the Eurofighter Typhoon will have a “generational difference” with the Mirage.

Unwilling to reveal their strategy, Mr Turker explained that, “EADS is aware of India’s requirement. The company is ready to work with specifications and issues relating to outsourcing and weapon systems to be on board will be addressed during various discussions.”