IAF Mirage 2000 Upgrade Slowed By Weapons

June 8th 2011 LIVEFIST

It has emerged that India's $2.4-billion proposal to upgrade 51 IAF Dassault Mirage 2000H/TH fighters -- widely expected to be cleared by the government's apex approval body this month -- hasn't come up because the attached contract for weapons/armaments with MBDA hasn't been cleared yet by India's Ministry of Finance. India's apex Cabinet Committee on Security will not consider the primary upgrade contract separate from the constituent weapon contract, obviously. It is not clear at this stage if the armament contract remains with the Ministry of Finance on account of normal procedural delays or more specific price concerns. Will update this post.