Reliance Defence chosen ‘freely’ for Rafale deal, says Dassault Aviation
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New Delhi: Dassault Aviation said in press release on Thursday that the decision to partner with Reliance Defence on aircraft was taken ‘freely’.
The statement appeared following the French media reports suggesting that the company had to choose Reliance Defence in a “trade off’ to clinch the deal with India.
“Dassault Aviation has freely chosen to make a partnership with India’s Reliance Group. This joint venture, Dassault Reliance Aerospace Ltd (DRAL), was created on February 10, 2017. Other partnerships have been signed with other companies such as BTSL, DEFSYS, Kinetic, Mahindra, Maini, SAMTEL. Other negotiations are ongoing with a hundred-odd other potential partners,” Dassault Aviation said.
Meanwhile, India’s Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was expected to assess the progress of the supply of the aircraft during her visit to the nation on Thursday.