New Delhi, May 31 (IANS) With a $10.4-billion tender for supply of 126 combat planes to India in the pipeline, visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel Tuesday made a pitch for the Eurofighter Typhoon jets, built by Germany-led four-nation consortium EADS Cassidian.
‘With the Eurofighter, we have made good proposals and want to intensify our relationship with India. The Eurofighter is the best product on offer,’ Merkel told a joint press conference along with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the first day of her two-day visit here.
Merkel, however, stressed, that she will not exert any influence on the procurement process and ‘we shall wait and see’.
The combat jet tender, described as ‘mother of all deals’ in Indian military circles, is in its final stages.
India had earlier this month shortlisted Eurofighter Typhoon (jointly manufactured by Germany, Italy, Spain and Britain), along with Rafale from French firm Dassault for the competition.
In the process, India has rejected fighter jets from the Americans (Boeing’s F/A-18s and Lockheed Martin’s F-16s), Russians (United Aircraft Corporation’s MiG-35) and the Swedes (SAAB’s Gripen).
India is expected to decide on the ultimate winner of the contract end of 2011. The contract entails investment of nearly 50 percent of the deal amount back in domestic defence industry.
Earlier in the day, German Defence Minister Thomas de Maizere, who is accompanying Merkel for the first-ever inter-governmental consultations between India and Germany, met his Indian counterpart A.K. Antony for a one-on-one meeting, where the tender came up for discussions.
Defence Ministry officials said the two ministers were closeted for nearly half-an-hour, when they also exchanged views on the security scenario in the region in the backdrop of the killing of Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad inside Pakistan May 2 and the possible terror fall-out.
