Hindustan Aeronautics is slowly turning into a major international aviation company. However the Congress led UPA failed to conclude the Rafale deal with France and thus neither HAL nor any private Indian Company got to manufacture 108 of these aircrafts.
Since IAF wanted these fighters badly, so PM took initiative and in a Govt to Govt deal negotiated for just 36 aircrafts but with super enhanced sensors and weapon systems and proportionately at much better price than that pertaining to the hung deal of three years back.
Now the wheelers and dealers of the murky world of Lutyen are trying to brew a political storm in a tea cup, in the outside hope that it will burn the CHAIWALLAH. The dirty tricks department if Congress Party is working overtime on the acquisition of 36 Dassault Rafale fighter aircraft. Helping the Congress party in taking on the BJP government for purchasing this much needed minimum number of a super product are the turd reporters. These reporters first overlook all the facts including the latest avionics and weapon systems ( absent on the Congress negotiated jets ) and project that the 36 jets are overpriced. Then they claim a magic figure of Rs 30,000 crore has been handed over to a private company just because even the offsets ( a process evolved during UPA Govt itself) of the have not gone to Hindustan Aeronautical Limited (HAL). They forget that for a company like HAL going in for such offsets will be the insult of the highest order. It will be like Congress fighting the next elections under some Taluka level Political Party.
These turds report that for HAL, the off set was a matter of survival. Because as per them the existing orders for HAL will be ending by as early as 2020 Thus the offset from Rafale was one of the hopes for this Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) to better their kitty of orders……such great insights. The off sets just constitute orders for aircrafts parts which will given to the partnering company to manufacture and supply ( payments will be made on dispatch of supplies to the French Company ).
Even the former HAL chairperson TS Raju responsible for over all inefficiency prevailing at HAL had called HAL’s order book of Rs 41,000 crore ‘very very low for aeronautical industry’.
The present cash flow for this public sector company comes from the production of Su-30MKI fighter planes for the Indian Air Force (IAF), and this order to produce 30-35 fighters will come to an end by 2020. Then there are other orders for Advance Light Helicopters, Hawk trainers and Jaguar fighter planes.
However, IAF is looking at 40 MK1 LCA, 83 MK-A LCA and over 200 MK2 LCA and may be even some MK3 versions. Then there is a huge potential for exports once IAF Tejas are a success. Next in line are AMCA and even the Russian FGFA and depending on HAL’s own handling the HJT 36.
In short, whether or not the political battle between the Congress and BJP over Rafale reach a logical conclusion, HAL has to put its house in order and start performing and commence timely delivery to IAF. The company exists for IAF and not the other way round.
