India Cancels Rafale Deal??

According to a report appearing in Sputnik, it seems India – finally - has had enough of protracted negotiations with France over Rafale fighter aircrafts and decided to deep-six it by scrapping it.

Playing politics over Mistral has finally caught up to France with the cancellation of Rafale. India was perfectly justified in canceling the deal. And, who would not be? France's record regarding Mistral delivery to Russia speaks volumes.

Even though the contract was signed long back and the delivery was supposed to have started last November, France – in an exhibition of crass loyalty, also known as “boot licking”, to USA – decided to play games with the delivery schedule in order to force Russia to accept the odious and neo-nazi regime in Ukraine which came to power through violent coup, actively aided by US and its vassal states in Europe, by overthrowing legally elected government of Victor Yanukovych.

President Hollande kept on changing the goal post - citing frivolous reports regarding Russia's “alleged but unproven” role in Ukraine - which in reality amounted to demanding abject surrender of Russia to the masters of the planet earth, the western world and accepting the murderous regime of Poroshenko.

The recent example of such disgusting mentality was on full display just after the talks in Minsk, which produced a road-map for achieving the ceasefire in Ukraine and finding the lasting solution to achieve peace. Instead of thanking Russia for its effort for making the talks in Minsk negotiations possible, France still hedged on the delivery citing again its favorite mantra - “everything regarding delivery of Mistral depends on the conditions in Ukraine”.

So, what is the guarantee that the same would not be repeated by France with regards to Rafale deliveries to India and its future upgrades? In one word: NONE.

Whether this was the most overriding factor in the cancellation of the deal, nobody knows. But the unethical behavior of France regarding Mistral, must have been a topmost and significant concern for the Indian government. Other factors like high costs etc. - I think - are just a sideshow.

India Scraps Rafale Fighter Deal With France, Eyes Russian Alternative ….. India has scrapped a deal with France to buy 126 Rafale medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA), after three years of negotiations, due to the high cost of the project. India has announced that a deal to buy 126 Rafale medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) from French manufacturer Dassault Aviation is “effectively dead”. The reason is the announced high cost of the overall project, according to the country’s online newspaper Business Standard. Dassault Aviation has refused to take full responsibility for these 108 fighters to be manufactured in India, which automatically increased the overall cost of the whole project. Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar has recently said that Sukhoi-30 MKI fighters, which had been built by Hindustan Aeronautics at its Nashik plant, could be substituted for them, according to the website IndiaSpend.

Rafale aircraft

French people must be kicking themselves for having elected such a spineless, feckless leader as their President, who places loyalty to USA, EU - and their hegemonic policies - above France's national self-interest and its economy.

In my earlier article, I have expressed the overwhelming possibility of India cancelling the Rafale deal. [France risk losing Rafale contract with India over Mistral row??] 

Poor Charles De Gaulle, the one who kicked NATO HQ out of the country and was against the dollar hegemony, must be moaning, turning and kicking in his grave.