France's Dassault Bags India's Largest Defense Order for Fighter Jets

India's largest ever defense deal, a $10.4 billion (Rs 52,000 crore) order for 126 fighter jets for the air force, has gone to France's Dassault after over four years of a fiercely-fought bidding process.

Under the terms of purchase, the first 18 aircraft will come in a fly-away condition, with the remaining 108 to be manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited under a transfer of technology agreement. The first 18 jets will have to be supplied within 36 months.

The size of the contract could eventually go up to 200 aircraft as there is a provision for increasing the order by 50 percent without any price hike.

The next step in finalizing the contract would involve cost negotiations with Dassault which will be held in the next 10–15 days.

The other four aircraft in the fray earlier were American firms Lockheed Martin's F-16 and Boeing's F/A-18, Russian United Aircraft Corporation's MiG-35 and Swedish SAAB's Gripen.