The Indian Ministry of Defense has issued letters, on Wednesday, to
two of the six vendors competing in the estimated USD 10 billion Indian
Air Force (IAF) tender for 126 Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft
(MMRCA), asking them to extend the validity of their commercial bids,
which will expire on Thursday, tomorrow.
According to the IAF and the
ministry, the other aircraft in the fray, the US Boeing’s F/A-18 Super
Hornet, the US Lockheed Martin Corporation’s F-16, the Russian MiG-35
and the Swedish SAAB’s Gripen did not pass the technical evaluation
conducted by the IAF.
It is noteworthy that this comes just a day before the commercial bids of all six vendors were to expire.
It would not be unsurprising if this move by the ministry and it’s
coincidentally sharp timing were to raise the hackles of the spurned
vendors. Industry insiders are already expecting to see a robust
response from these vendors and their countries of origin, at least in
private, to this decision.
One question some of the vendors losing out are already asking is why
the ministry asked all the vendors to resubmit their offset proposals
early this month if they already knew the outcome of the technical
evaluation submitted by the IAF last summer, and waited till a day
before the expiry of the commercial bids to effectively announce a
shortlist by inviting extension of commercial bids from only two
vendors.
The commercial bids of the other four vendors will lapse on Thursday, tomorrow.
Something else the uninvited vendors are ready to question is the
basis for judging technical compliance, with robust speculation that
none of the MMRCA-6 aircraft were actually completely compliant with the
IAF’s 643 parameters listed in the Air Staff Qualitative Requirements
(ASQRs) for the tender.
I think IAF should go with Typhoon then Rafale... there is a reason that no one has acquired it... French really screw their customers later... just look what they charged India to the upgrade and refurbished on the Mirage 2000s they acquired from them.
ReplyDeleteFrankly I am surprised that Rafale made the semi final cut, Sarkozy must've really sweeted the pot ;), anyway my 2 cents.