Fighter deal: losers may whine to CVC, fears IAF

India is just a month or two away from deciding the winner of the $10.4-billion contract for 126 combat aircraft, but the Indian Air Force fears the losers among the six bidders for the deal might derail the process of quick acquisition by appealing to the government's corruption watchdog, the Central Vigilance Commissioner.

The purchase process nearing the cost negotiation stage that will be decided in a week or two, and the final winner for signing the contract would be decided by September, Air Chief Marshal P V Naik told a press conference Thursday at the AeroIndia show at Yelahanka air base near Bangalore.

"But some dissatisfied vendor among those not chosen for cost negotiations may put a spoke in the wheel and derail the process by going to the CVC with complaints, leading to a delay, though we want to quickly sign the contract," Naik said.

American aerospace majors Boeing and Lockheed Martin, Russia's MiG-RAC, Sweden's Saab, France's Dassault and European consortium EADS are in the race for the deal, the tender for which issued in August 2007.

The IAF completed the flight and weapons evaluation of the six contending aircraft - F-16, F/A-18, MiG-35, Gripen, Rafale and Eurofighter Typoon - last year and submitted its report to the defence ministry, which is studying the capabilities of all the planes.

When the cost negotiation stage is reached, the government is expected to call only one of the six companies for talks, thereby signalling that the other five firms are out of contention.