Eurofighter 'stands ready' to renegotiate MMRCA bid with India

The partner nations of the Eurofighter consortium "stand ready" to enter into further discussions with India regarding its selection of Dassault's Rafale over the Eurofighter Typhoon, according to UK Defence Minister Gerald Howarth.

IHS Jane's understands that a revised Typhoon bid has been submitted to India for its Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) requirement.

The bid's greatest hope of success would appear to rest on a more attractive offset package than Dassault's, given that India selected the Rafale because it offered the lowest price.

India's procurement is expected to be worth more than USD13.5 billion and Dassault will need to invest about half of the contract value in local defence sector offsets.

Per unit, the Typhoon bid is thought to have been more expensive than the Rafale, while operational costs would also have had a bearing on India's decision. IHS Jane's understands that Dassault's total package price was bid at about 15 per cent to 17 per cent less than that from Eurofighter and that the Rafale was about USD5 million cheaper than the Typhoon per aircraft.

Howarth, the minister for International Security Strategy, said during a parliamentary debate on 7 March that the Eurofighter consortium and its partner nations "stand ready to enter into further discussions with the Indian Government, should that be their wish".