In order to appease India's anger, France made a major concession! According to AFP reports on June 6th, after the Rafale fighter jet was shot down, France announced that Tata Advanced Systems, a subsidiary of Tata Group in India, and French Dassault Aviation signed four production transfer agreements to produce key structural parts of the Rafale fighter jets in India in the future. Dassault Chairman and CEO Trappier said that this cooperation is a very important step to strengthen Dassault's supply chain in India.
Tata Advanced Systems CEO Singh said that this is a milestone for India's aerospace industry, showcasing India's manufacturing strength. India will be responsible for producing the front fuselage, central fuselage, side shells, and tail end of the Rafale fighter jets. It has been less than a month since the French Rafale fighter jet was shot down, and France has already announced plans to invest in factories in India and transfer technology to India, which is indeed quite unusual. Especially, this is the first time that the Rafale fighter jet has been manufactured outside of France.
Experts have stated that France's announcement was entirely made to quell India's anger. Although India publicly claims to have won, Indian officials have expressed strong dissatisfaction with the French side through various channels. The main reasons for these dissatisfactions are two-fold: one is the high price of the Rafale fighter jets; the other is that the actual combat performance of the Rafale fighter jets has been seriously overestimated. Moreover, the contract amount for India's purchase of French Rafale fighter jets is very large, and India has not fully paid the balance, so France had no choice but to make such concessions.
From India's perspective, India naturally hopes that France will transfer technology to enhance its indigenous manufacturing capabilities. However, it is not entirely disadvantageous for France to transfer technology to India, as this means that military cooperation between France and India is upgrading. If India cannot digest the transferred technology or ultimately becomes just one link in France's supply chain, India may become even more dependent on France. The Modi government places high hopes on India's indigenous manufacturing. For now, the defeat in the air battle between India and Pakistan does not seem to be entirely bad for India.
Original Source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1834140737625099/
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