Govt clears Mirage delivery, question mark over 124 more

The Government has given the IAF the go-ahead to take delivery of 10 Mirage 2000-H fighters next month but has put a question mark on the pr...

The Government has given the IAF the go-ahead to take delivery of 10 Mirage 2000-H fighters next month but has put a question mark on the proposal to purchase another 124 Mirage 2000-5 fighters.

In the wake of a controversy over the 350 million dollar Mirage 2000-H deal, the Government wants the IAF to consider other fighters instead of concentrating only on the 2000-5 Mirage variant.

It’s learnt that Air Headquarters will be asked to project its ‘‘air staff requirement’’ after which there are plans to float a global tender.

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The Mirage deal — the 10 aircraft are primarily replacements for aircraft that have gone down — was shrouded in controversy after Panama-based Keyser Incorporated took Dassault Aviation to a Paris court, seeking ‘‘commission’’ for the contract with India signed on September 19, 2002.

Keyser withdrew its case from the appellate court on September 2, 2004 after losing the case in the lower court in 2002.

The IAF is now preparing a list of pilots to bring home the 10 aircraft from Biarritz in France by November 15.

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