No agreement signed for purchase of fighter aircraft: Parrikar

New Delhi: Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Friday said no agreement has been signed with any country for the procurement or purchase of fighter aircraft. In a written reply to Jitendra Chaudhury and others in the Lok Sabha, Parrikar said, "No agreement has been signed with Russia for procurement of fighter aircraft equipped with stealth technology. However, an Inter-Governmental agreement has been signed with Russian Federation for design, development, production, etc, of a Prospective Multi Role Fighter Aircraft." He said, "The Indian Air Force (IAF) is equipped to cater for the threat environment that exists and is ready to meet the role assigned to it. Operational preparedness of the IAF is reviewed from time to time, based on the threat perception." Further, augmentation of capabilities of IAF including its modernisation and acquisition is a dynamic and continuous process, he added. Transfer of technology for defence equipment Parrikar further informed the Lok Sabha that the government has entered into contracts with a few Israeli firms for supply of defence equipment with Transfer of Technology or work-share arrangements, while the divulgence of details will not be in the interest of national security. "In addition, Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) has several defence Research & Development programmes with Directorate of Defence Research and Development (DDR&D), Israel. Under this, Israel shares technology information, know-how, know-why and undertakes collaborative research projects. DRDO and DDR&D meet annually under the aegis of Indo-Israel Management Council (IIMC) to pursue and discuss defence R&D activities, he said in a written reply to Rakshatai Khadse.