Dassault Aviation clarifies its stand vindicating the contract to Reliance !

The Rafale Jet fighters embroglio has reached to such an extent after the startling disclosure of the former French president Francois Hollande about the complicity of the ruling political dispensation in the allotment of the offset contract of Dassault Aviation to Reliance India at the cost of the Indian public sector undertaking having expertise in defence production the HAL has ultimately compelled the French Defence Company Dassault Avitation to issue a press release vindicating its stand in the deal trying to come out clean of the impending controversy.

In a press release issued with a date line of September 21st September, 2018 with a headline ” About the Rafale Contract For India,” the French company in the first paragraph explains that this contract is government to government agreement. It provides for a separate contract in which the Dassault Aviation commits to make compensation investments( offsets) worth 50% of the value of the purchase clearly indicating about half of the value of the total deal of the contract.

The para two of the press release specifically states verbatim: This offset contract is delivered in complaince with the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) 2016 regulations. In this framework and in accordance with the policy of Make in India, Dassault Aviation has decided to make a partnership with INDIA’S RELIANCE GROUP. This is Dassault Aviation’s choice as CEO, Eric Tappier has explained in an interview published in MINT newspaper on April 17, 2018. This partnership has led to the creation Dassault Reliance Aerospace.Ltd ( DRAL) joint venture in February 2017.

Dassault Aviation and Reliance have built a plant in Nagpur for manufacturing parts for Falcon and Rafale Aircraft. The Nagpur site was chosen because of the availabilty of land with direct access to an Airport runway, an essential activities. Para third says : Other partnerships have been signed with other companies such as BTSL, DEFSYS, Kinetic, Mahindra, Maini, SAMTEL…… Other negotiations are ongoing with an hundred odd other potential partners. Para four adds: Dassault Aviation is very proud that the Indian Authorities has selected the Rafale fighters.

There are no signatures in the press release that raises a doubtful question mark? In the end of the press release under the head of ABOUT DASSAULT AVIATION, the French company boasts itself as: With over 10, 000 military and civil aircraft delivered in more than 90 countries over the last century. In 2017, Dasault Aviation reported revenues of € 4.8 billion. The company has 11, 400 employees with built up expettise worldwide.