Eurofighter Price Cut Aimed At India’s MMRCA Deal

Despite India’s elimination of the Eurofighter from the MMRCA competition, BAE Systems is preparing to re-launch a bid to oust winner France's Dassault Rafale. British Prime Minister David Cameron expressed his disappointment after India chose the French aircraft earlier in January in a deal worth nearly $10 billion. “BAE believes that when India scrutinizes the Rafale and assesses the French submission, it will realize the Eurofighter is a superior aircraft that will be cheaper overall", the Mail Today said without naming its source. “If the Indians are willing to look again at the Eurofighter and there are indications that it is happening, a revised bid will be ready for them," it added. According to the report, "BAE has even come up with designs for a marine version of the Eurofighter in case the Indians want to fly it from aircraft carriers". The report also says that BAE's Chief Executive Ian King has not ruled out a price cut if it means clinching the deal away from the French. The Eurofighter is a joint partnership with the EADS, a German and Spanish defense giant, and Italy’s Finmeccanica. Meanwhile the Indian Ministry of Defense has maintained that it chose Dassault Rafale because the French offered better after-deals, including technology upgrades and the latest weaponry.