In the past week, a number of mainstream and defense / military specific media sources revealed that the French Dassault Rafale and Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets have made the shortlist while the American Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet, Lockheed Marting F-16, Sweden's Gripen and Russian MiG-35 fighters have been rejected. Dassault and Eurofighter have been asked by the Ministry of Defence to extend the offer validity thus making them part of the shortlist.
India Defence had earlier reported that these two fighter jets had emerged favorites after the Indian Air Force conducted extensive field trials between 2009 and 2010. See:
-- Air Force MRCA Deal - Eurofighter Typhoon Ahead on Technical Parameters
India has agreed to provide the United States with relevant data based on which its fighters were rejected for the lucrative USD 11 billion dollar deal. The United States, however, has been rapidly growing its share in the Indian defense market and Boeing alone envisions deals worth USD 50 billion in the coming decade.
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