Govt clears Mirage missile deal

MBDA will need to follow the offset policy and will invest 30 per cent of the contract value into the Indian defence manufacturing sector.

The government has cleared a mega deal to procure cutting edge air-to-air missiles for the Mirage 2000 fighters even as final approval to purchase a new fleet of basic trainers for the Air Force has been held back,pending clarifications from the Defence Ministry.

A Cabinet Committee on Security meeting chaired by PM Manmohan Singh cleared the modernisation deal for the Mirage fighters that will now provide the Air Force with 490 MICA missiles,manufactured by French missile firm MBDA. The deal is expected to be of around Euro 950 million.

This deal is in addition to an earlier modernisation contract worth Euro1.47 billion signed with French firms Thales and Dassault to upgrade the fleet of 51 fighters. MBDA will need to follow the offset policy and will invest 30 per cent of the contract value into the Indian defence manufacturing sector.

The contract to procure basic trainers has been held back,pending clarifications. Swiss firm Pilatus has won the contract pegged at close to $1 billion for a basic trainer fleet.