Dassault CEO: 36 Rafale jets cost 9% less

Amid the ongoing political drama surrounding the Rafale deal, Dassault CEO Eric Trappier came forward to refute Rahul Gandhi's allegations and claims that Rafale is a 'scam'.

Speaking to ANI, Trappier said that Dassault chose Reliance by themselves and the Anil Ambani-led corporation is just one of many offset partners Dassault has chosen.

He also said that the offset deal is built on a joint venture between Dassault and Reliance, and there is no money going to Reliance from the JV. Trappier also said that Dassault is investing its own engineers and workers into the JV, who will be taking the lead in the industrial part of the deal.

Refuting allegations that he is lying, Trappier said: "I don't lie. The truth I declared before and the statements I made are true. I don't have a reputation of lying. In my position as CEO, you don't lie".

He also spoke of Dassault's history of cooperation with the Indian government and the IAF, dating back all the way to 1953, when Nehru was the PM. Trappier said that Dassault is not working for any political party and is simply supplying strategic products to the IAF and the Indian government.

Trappier also described some details of the offset deals, saying that Dassault is not obligated to say who they are working with for the first 3 years of the 7-year deal, and that the first delivery of the Rafale jets will be in September 2019, as per the decided timeline.

Speaking of the price of the Rafale jets, which has been a major point of contention among the critics of the deal, Trappier said: "Price of 36 was exactly the same when you compare with 18 flyaway. 36 is the double of 18, so as far as I was concerned, it should have been double the price. But because it was government to government, there was some negotiation, I had to decrease price by 9%. The price of Rafale in flyaway condition is less expensive in the 36 contract than the 126 contract."

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