IAF steers clear of Mirage deal controversy

The Indian Air Force has distanced itself from the controversy over the purchase of 10 Mirage-2000H fighters after a Paris court reportedly announced last week that the deal had been swung through middlemen from Keyser, a Panama-based arms negotiation agency.

‘‘The deal is no longer with us. It is under the direct control of the Ministry of Defence, we no more have control over it,’’ IAF sources said. The 10 Mirage-2000H fighters, ordered as replacements for Mirages lost in crashes — the IAF has so far lost five of 49 Mirages it bought in 1985 — were initially supposed to arrive early this year. But once the MoD said it wanted the Mirages fitted with the Tactical Air Navigation (TACAN) radar system, manufacturer Dassault Aviation pushed up the price significantly. The MoD has since reverted to its order for the old configuration and the batch of Mirages is expected to arrive before the year is out.

George Fernandes, who was Defence Minister when the deal was pushed through, is currently in Canada, and was not available for comment. Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s office declined to comment on the matter, saying they were not aware of any such development. The Mirage-2000H, currently the most expensive fighter plane in the IAF’s fleet, is currently flown by two squadrons: Gwalior-based 1 and 7 Squadrons, though the IAF has also done the groundwork to add a third Mirage squadron (9 Squadron) shortly.