The report states that the IAI gained undue benefits of Rs 3.16 crore from the contract.
It says that the IAF concluded a contract in March 2010 with IAI for five 914 F (certified) UAV Rotax engines for Rs 87.45 lakh per engine even as Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), a DRDO laboratory, had procured the same variant of the engine at Rs 24.30 lakh per engine in April 2012.

The average price of the engine in the international market is between Rs 21-25 lakh, the report says.

“As a result, the vendor gained an undue benefit of Rs 3.16 crore as it supplied the five contracted UAV engines at more than three times the market price or the price offered to the DRDO unit,” reads the report.

The auditor also accused the vendor for mislabelling and supplying uncertified engines to the IAF which reportedly led to several accidents, including loss of one UAV in a crash.

The CAG report also noted that the upgradation of Medium Lift Mi-17 Helicopters, proposed in 2002 to overcome their “operational limitation”, could not be achieved even after 18 years.
“As a result, these helicopters were flying with limited capability, thus compromising operational preparedness during these years,” it said.

The CAG further said that due to poor planning by the Ministry of Defence and indecision at various stages of procurement, it took 15 years to enter into the upgradation contract of 90 Mi-17 helicopters with an Israeli company — in January 2017.

The audit also states that while the contracted delivery of these upgraded helicopters had to begin July 2018 and was to be completed by 2024, 56 of these helicopters, even after upgradation, would be left with less than two years of life and would be phased out by 2024.

The CAG report also came down heavily on the government’s offset policy for defence procurement. The national auditor cited the example of the 36 Rafale fighter jets bought from Dassault Aviation and said that the French manufacturer has not delivered on its promises regarding transfer of technology.

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According to the reports by India Today, one of the IAF’s 10 current active woman fighter pilots is undergoing conversion training and will begin active duties flying Rafale jets with the 17 Squadron soon.

The IAF’s first five Rafale fighters were ceremonially inducted into the Golden Arrows squadron on September 10 in Ambala.

More Rafales will be arriving in October and December, with all 36 on order to be inducted by late 2021.

Women fighter pilots undergo an identical training regimen as their male counterparts. Once they are operational on a fighter type, they undergo conversion training, which is a curriculum pilots need to take when they switch from flying one aircraft to another.

In this case, the woman pilot will be converting from MiG-21 Bison to the Rafale, a vastly different and more modern jet in all respects.

The IAF’s 10 women pilots have flown a variety of jets so far, including the Su-30 MKI and MiG-29 UPG. Flt Lt Avani Chaturvedi, Flt Lt Bhawanna Kanth and Flt Lt Mohana Singh became the first women fighter pilots in 2016.

The government cleared women for fighter flying in 2016. So far, 10 women fighter pilots have been commissioned, with more in the pipeline each year.

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It is nearly after two decades that India received its first batch of new multirole combat fighters. With this the country’s air power gets a strategic edge in the midst of a tense border row with China in Eastern Ladakh.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also welcomed the arrival of the aircrafts. The aircraft will be officially inducted into the IAF in the second half of August.

The aircraft, having an undisputed track record and considered one of the most potent combat jets globally, landed at the Ambala Air Force base at around 3.10 pm after covering a distance of 7,000km from the Merignac airbase in French port city of Bordeaux.

“The Birds have landed safely in Ambala,” Defence Minister Rajanath Singh tweeted. He said that if anyone should be worried about the Indian Air Force’s capability it should be those who want to threaten “our national integrity.”

The comment has an undertone of a warning to China.

The Touchdown of Rafale at Ambala. pic.twitter.com/e3OFQa1bZY

— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) July 29, 2020

The Rafales were escorted by two Sukhoi 30 MKIs after they entered the Indian air space and were given a water salute when they landed here. Singh said that “the touchdown of Rafale combat aircrafts in India marks the beginning of a new era in our military

A security blanket has been thrown around the air force station by the police to prevent any photography and videography of the arrival of the aircraft. Section 144 has also been imposed in four villages close to Ambala air base.

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The fighter jets, built by French aviation firm Dassault, took off from the Merignac airbase in southern France’s Bordeaux.

India signed an inter-government agreement with France to procure 36 Rafale jets for the Indian Air Force under a Rs 59,000 crore deal nearly four years ago.

The fleet is expected to boost the IAF’s combat capabilities at a time when India is locked in a tense border situation in China.

Air to Air Refuelling planned during the first leg of the ferry will be undertaken by dedicated Tanker support from French Air Force. The aircraft are likely to reach AF Stn Ambala on 29 Jul 20. No 17 Sqn, 'The Golden Arrows', is being raised at #Ambala with #Rafale aircraft. 2/2

— Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) July 27, 2020

The Rafale aircraft will cover a distance of nearly 7,000km from France to India with air-to-air refuelling and a single stop at French airbase in the United Arab Emirates.

“Delivery of ten aircraft has been completed on schedule. Five will stay back in France for training Mission. The delivery of all thirty six aircraft will be completed on schedule by the end of 2021,” the Indian embassy in France said in a statement.

The Indian ambassador to France, Jawed Ashraf, interacted with the Indian pilots before they took off from France.

"Beauty and the Beast"- Rafale Fighter Aircraft. Ready to take off!! @DDNewslive @ANI @MEAIndia @JawedAshraf5 @rajnathsingh @PMOIndia @gouvernementFR @DrSJaishankar @IndianDiplomacy @Dassault_OnAir @DefenceMinIndia pic.twitter.com/qS9w9lP6CW

— India in France (@IndiaembFrance) July 27, 2020

The Rafale fighter jets are capable of carrying a range of highly effective weapons, including the Meteor air-to-air missile and Scalp cruise missile.

The Rafale jets will come with various India-specific modifications, including Israeli helmet-mounted displays, radar warning receivers, low-band jammers, 10-hour flight data recording, infra-red search and tracking systems among others.

The Air Force has readied the required infrastructure to welcome the jets in its line-up.

In November 2017, Indian National Congress alleged a ‘huge scam’ in Rafale fighter jets deal. The opposition party alleged that the contract violated the procurement procedure. The INC had said that the deal signed with France does not cater for technology transfer and has caused an insurmountable’ loss to the exchequer.

The Rafale deal has a 50 percent offset clause, a large part of which is to be executed by a joint venture company of Anil Ambani owned Reliance Defence.

The then Congress leader Rahul Gandhi demanded a probe and filed a contempt case. Following petitions to investigate the allegations, the Indian Supreme Court said in December 2018 that it found “no occasion to doubt the process” of the billion dollar deal.

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