IAF is not linking the two deals... the questions about the upgrade package have all been sorted out, the haggling then shifted to the weapons package which threatened the whole upgrade deal. It appears that even this has been sorted out now. Waiting for cabinet/CCS approval...Philip wrote:Here is a controversy that could affect the Rafale's chances.The M-2000 upgrade.The ET report carried in BR says that to upgrade our M-2000s will cost the same as buying a new aircraft and take 9 years to deliver,while taking only 6 for full delivery of the MMRCAs! In addition,though israel offered to do the same for "half the price",the MOD's "only OEM can do the job" policy flies in the face of its open tender for legacy Russian aircraft!.
All questions about cost, upgrade schedule etc were known to IAF and MOD, probably the DDMs did not know about this. If IAF wanted a quicker upgrade schedule, they would have negotiated that. M2K line has been silent for years and thus, Dassault needs time to get the components readied.