The contrast is striking between the spreading controversy around the 2016 deal that saw India purchase Dassault Rafale fighters and progress toward delivery. On the one hand, a former French president and a French publication seem to support claims by the Indian opposition party that an offset contract was tainted by crony capitalism. On the other, Dassault is executing a wide-ranging plan to start deliveries in September 2019.It is unlikely the political row will jeopardize the sale, primarily because handovers will almost certainly begin before a court passes judgment-if it does. But the controversy might have consequences for future aircraft procurement in India. U.S. OEMs Lockheed Martin and Boeing are in the race to provide India with a fleet of 110 new fighter-bombers in one of the world's largest open tenders, floated early this year.
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