BY : IANS

With the Indian government set to ask for proposals to upgrade its fleet of Mirage 2000 fighters, French defence and aerospace company Thales will soon enter into a pact with Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) to jointly bid for the project, top officials here said. Thales has also committed itself to a 30% offset clause for the upgrade, unlike some purchases in the past like Russia’s Sukhoi-30s and MI-17 choppers wherein upgrades were taken as part of the original deal, the officials added.

“I think, things are finally moving forward,” said Jean-Paul Perrier, executive vice-president for the $17-billion French giant, referring to the government’s intention since two years ago to upgrade its fleet of 51 Mirage 2000 fighters. “We have the full knowledge and the solutions for a low-risk and cost-effective upgrade of Mirage 2000. Thales will also cooperate with Indian and other French industries for the project,” Mr Perrier said.

Apart from HAL, other Indian companies that are expected to partner with Thales are the Department of Aviation Research and Bharat Electronics. The Thales-HAL consortium will include Dassault, which shut down the production line for Mirage 2000s five years ago.