1/12-In the continued absence of conclusive answers from the govt and the often nonsensical tirade from those opposition, I decided to dig a little further into the Rafale controversy. Here are some details on the E 1.7 billion amount referred to as India Specific Upgrades.
2/12-These India specific upgrades, ordered specifically on the request of the IAF, make the IAF Rafales more capable than what France operates.
3/12-Contrary to what some may believe, these 14 India specific enhancements are not the figment of anyones imagination. They were a component of what the UPA failed to negotiate and are now a part of what the IAF is getting.
4/12-There are some crucial differences and additions in the India specific upgrades which the IAF is getting now compared to what was being negotiated earlier. (More on this later).
5/12-Critically, talks on the cost of these India specific upgrades were primarily between the IAF and Dassault during the UPA regime and never progressed to conclusive cost negotiations between Dassault and HAL which was supposed to build Rafales in India.
6/12-The end result, its IMPOSSIBLE to compare the per-piece cost of the Rafales being acquired now and the Rafales being negotiated for earlier.
7/12-Besides a low band jammer, towed decoy system, upgraded engine, additional modes in the radar and higher resolution in the Front Sector Optronics, there are new details available.
8/12-The Rafale with India Specific upgrades has structural differences compared with what the French operate. This is to accommodate a new Israeli satellite communications system.
9/12-The confidentiality pact in this deal extends to Israel as well as France. Is Israel OK with sharing cost and other details of its equipment on the Rafale?
10/12-The helmet mounted sight on Rafale is Israeli but there is a significant upgrade involved in making this compatible with the Meteor and Scalp missiles being acquired.
11/12-Targeting and other symbology specific to these weapon systems is being integrated into this helmet mounted sight.
12/12-The changes demanded by India also involve significant changes to the “Modular Data Processing Unit” (MDPU) of the Rafale, a new generation mission computer.
5(b)/12-This point needs further refinement-While talks between various stakeholders were concluded and there was ''discovery'' of a total price INCLUDING India specific upgrades, NOTHING could proceed because of the inability of HAL to manufacture the jet at the prescribed cost
