Rafel and other things
JAI HIND
At the very
outset let me say that I support Mr. Modi not because I think he is heaven sent or
anything. It is because of the TINA factor. I have started the handle @NedMenon
SOLELY to expose the lies be it by Congress or by BJP. I will
also expose idiotic statements of anyone and every one. I will use the blog to
publish it and then I will use the twitter handle to spread the truth. The aim
of the blog and twitter handle is to provide a place where people can mine data
on “what is the truth”.
Mister Rahul
Gandhi is of view that his father's corruption in the Bofors case can be used
as an example for targeting the Modi Government.
That Rajiv
Gandhi was guilty is now beyond doubt.
The tweets and
rants of Mr. Gandhi are becoming shriller and shriller betraying a desperation.
I will start with statements as of today alone.
The hatred is
for the person of Modi – a seasoned Politician and a Bania to boot. Poor Rahul
is really no match for him however much he tries with the help of the likes of
Ahmed Patel, Cambridge Analytica and #pidis like Shashi Tharoor, Sam Pitodra et
al in the old form and the new form with a different face with no idea of what
Indian ethos is.
The theme of
today’s blog is the attack regarding Rafael Jet deal.
Mr. Gandhi has
no facts or figures to talk. (Remember his reaction to the question regarding
Doklam, "I have no facts" yet i am ranting!!). His handlers have
realised that raising the issue in Parliament can be dangerous as our
"young" middle aged fellow will not be able to stand and talk without
his sister and others standing around him with prompt cards so they are talking
of a parliament committee. Their aim seems to be only to get the details of
weapons and facilities coming with the aircraft.
I am NOT saying they are doing it for China and Pakistan which are the ONLY countries interested in knowing that data.
He has only vague assertions in the hope that some fool will believe. In fact the modus opirandi shows that he is an ardent follower of Adolph Hitler. His “big lie”- vol.1 Chapter X of Mein Kampf is famous. Those not familiar can read it at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_lie and compare it to what Congress and Rahul Gandhi is doing.
I am NOT saying they are doing it for China and Pakistan which are the ONLY countries interested in knowing that data.
He has only vague assertions in the hope that some fool will believe. In fact the modus opirandi shows that he is an ardent follower of Adolph Hitler. His “big lie”- vol.1 Chapter X of Mein Kampf is famous. Those not familiar can read it at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_lie and compare it to what Congress and Rahul Gandhi is doing.
Now let us
look at the genesis of Rafel story.
The Raphael
story starts in August 2007. Indian Air Force was getting old, planes need to
be replaced and the Forces were clamoring for replacement aircraft. Thus was
born the idea of the MMRCA competition. The next five years six different
aircraft types were tried out at sea level, at Deccan Plateau, that Deserts of
Rajasthan, the Himalayan heights to the very end of their envelops.
Ultimately
Dassault Rafael was selected in 2012. The negotiations started, Indian
bureaucracy are experts in finding out a methods how not proceed with a matter,
however serious and pressing. All sorts of queries were raised.
The Government
of India wanted Planes with technology and wanted the aircraft to be built in
India by HAL. The price was also a factor that was delaying the decision.
The French are
reliable but like the proverbial Shylock they will demand and the extract the
last pound of flesh.
The American
investigation revealed that HAL cannot be used for making advanced aircraft.
The report was shared with the French and the Swedes. The report can be read at
The French
made their own investigation with the permission of the then Defense Minister
Mister Anthony. Their findings were supported by the report of the Indian Air
force as well. The report on that with all the details can be had in
The French
also realised that if they contracted with HAL neither time nor quality will be
met nor will the price remain same and their L1 status would be in
jeopardy.
The French
also clearly stated that there can be no Transfer of technology. They REFUSED to
guarantee ANYTHING if HAL were to be involved.
The price
negotiations reached nowhere. Rahul Gandhi is aware of all these facts and if
he rants otherwise it is deliberate political nonsense that is cutting at the
very root of India's security.
When the NDA
Government took over the stage was that there was NOTHING. The French insisted
that they will not partner with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. There was no
consensus on the Transfer of Technology or the extent of transfer. There was no
guarantee on quality time or price
The lethargic
attitude of the then Defense Minister had brought us to the brink of disaster.
We were facing enemies and our forces were being forced into a situation where
they have to fight with stones and sticks. Mister Gandhi or for that matter
anybody in the UPA Government were bothered. They knew they were going out;
they wanted to leave a scorched earth for the incoming Government. The defense
was in shambles, the banks had lost their entire capital base thanks to an
"economist" whom late Prime Minister Mister Gandhi had called a joker,
there were monies to be paid out to the NRI's for loans taken at exorbitant
interest rates, money to be paid to Iran. In 2014 India was a disaster waiting
to happen.
The new
Government had to act fast and did so. The French and the Government of India
came to a consensus and the result was the agreement to buy 36 Raphaels for $
7.8 billion. The deal included the aircraft, customization and adaptation for
Indian conditions, all weapons that were required in adequate quantity, the
ability to carry Indian weapons, setting up of a training facility, setting up
of 2 advanced bases, 32 Jaguar aircraft, 2 Mirage 2000s, and many other bells
and whistles.
The agreement
was reached in September 2016. On 18 November 2016 the details were sought in
the Parliament and statement the Deputy Minister of defense gave the details.
This has been duly reported by the Jane's defense people. I am quoting Jane's
because if I were to quote native source, I would have been charged with
quoting a tainted source.
The report can
be had at
The figures
are simple. Aircraft alone cost USD103.12 million [5M lower tha what UPA was
talking about.] {bakshish? I do not know}, Rest of the cost were for the other
items mentioned above among others. Those details are defence secrets and will
not b revealed easily because Chin and Pakistan are salivating after that.
While the deal might seem to be highly priced right now,
actually it is very favorable for India. The MMRCA deal was being negotiated
for just 126 Rafael in fly-away condition, nothing regarding the weapons
package or maintenance had been included in it. While the current deal includes
36 Rafael in fly-away condition, also making Dassault promise an offset of more
than 3 billion Euros. That means creating business worth at least 3 billion Euros
for smaller Indian companies and generating thousands of new jobs in India
through the offsets. It also includes the Rafael’s weapons package which would
include the Meteor beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile that will also
be used in LCA and possibly SU-30 and AMCA. The deal also includes simulators,
spares, maintenance, and Performance Based Logistics support for five years
(for five years India does not have to spend on maintenance). And never forget
the 32 Jaguars and 2 Mirages and their spares.
France will also provide logistics and ground support and
ensure that there is 75 percent [i.e. 27 aircraft] are operationally available
at any time.
The aircraft will be customized as per the requirements
of the IAF which include Helmet Mounted Displays, Radar Warning Receiver,
Infra-red search and track among others advanced technologies.
There was no
agreement reached by UPA so there is no basis for comparison. The comparison
can be had with contemporaneous deals with Qatar and Egypt and the details can
be had at
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-france-qatar-rafale/france-and-qatar-seal-7-billion-rafale-fighter-jet-deal-idUKKBN0NL0RE20150430
and
http://time.com/3710118/egypt-rafale-fighter-jet-france/
But there are
other factors we will examine down below.
On this
background let us examine that complaint of Mister Gandhi and what he wants
The first
allegation of Mr. Gandhi is that India was paying too much price. The bland
statement was also alleged that the per aircraft pricing of the Rafael as per
the UPA negotiation comes to Rs 526.1 Crore as against the Modi government
negotiated price of Rs 1570.8 Crore. Basis for 526.1 is UNKNOWN. If it was
Qatar, the details are above. if Mr. gandhi is referring to the bare follow up
order it disproves his allegation as under the present deal also the Plane
costs around the same figure $103Million.
Anybody could
have done a due diligence and they would have known facts. Mr. Gandhi relies on
the concept of the Big Lie to push his story through.
Let us start
at basics. We cannot go by what Mr. Gandhi says because details of the amount
or where the data comes from is unknown. So we have to rely on what others
paid. Let us do a simple maths. The three countries which ordered Rafael are
Qatar, Egypt and India. The figures speak for themselves.
Qatar
|
Egypt
|
India
|
|
Number
of aircraft
|
24
|
24
|
36
|
Total
cost
|
US$7Billion
|
5.9
billion
|
7.8
Billion
|
Unit
price
|
291.66Million
|
245.33
Million
|
216.66
Million
|
You should
NEVER forget that Mr. Gandhi’s party was willing to pay 10.2 Billion dollars
for 126 show pieces with NO weapons, NO infra, NO training, NO enhancements and
NO weapons. ie. Per vanilla aircraft it would have cost $108 million with the
prospect of us being forced to pay what French demanded for the rest – the
estimate I read somewhere was that there was an oral agreement for the bells
and whistles to be priced at the same value with bakshish built in. A truly
#Greatindianloot project!!
If Mr. Gandhi
is to claim a previous agreement he will have to produce the papers and
substantiate the claim. THERE NEVER WAS ANY.
The next claim
is there is no TOT. Even under UPA there was to be no TOT so it is a
non-starter
Third argument
is that Modi excluded HAL from the process. HAL was NEVER in the game. After
Timothy Roemer's report and Dassault's investigation, the fate of HAL was
closed. Both links have been given above.
We all know
how bad the production line of MKI is and how long it took to bring LCA into
production and what the cost overruns are. The sole reason is the lethargic
public Sector culture.
4.
The fourth argument is Ambanis. Ambanis is ONE of TWENTY companies chosen by
Dassault for partnering. I would simply ask show me one company who has the
financial ability and experience to partner. It must also be remembered that
the partnership is NOT FOR THIS RAFAEL deal and they will be producing parts
for other projects of Dassault. Whatever that is when a company works it
produces environment for more employment, it pays tax to Governments and
generally improves the Nation. You or I cannot just go to bank and ask for a
loan unlike UPA when Chokshis and Modis and Mallyas could walk in and there
will be a call from the Finance Ministry give then 25% more than what they ask
and do not ask for collateral. Those days are over. Mr. Gandhi forgets who
sponsored and created Reliance – for a baksheesh.
Mr. Gandhi
forgets that the offset is 30K Crores. The investment with Ambani is only 100
Million Euros. Rest are yet to be hived off. It will not be to reliance.
What I have
said are data that any Tom, Dick and Harry can find on the net. I am sorry that
the Defense Minister or the staff did not do homework to collate and arrange
data and that's where Mr. Gandhi is making a show.
In short this
is just an idiotic story created as Macbeth said "And all our
yesterdays have lighted fools. The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle! Life’s
but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the
stage and then is heard no more. It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound
and fury, signifying nothing."
But it is
necessary that this truth be spread far and wide
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