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Fighter jets
戰斗機
Bomb bays to Delhi
彈艙來到德里
India favours France's Dassault
印度愛上了法國達索
"WE'VE been waiting for this day for 30 years," said Nicolas Sarkozy, France's president,
"我們為這一天已經等待了30年"，法國總統尼古拉薩科奇說。
on the news this week that India had gone into exclusive negotiations with Dassault Aviation, a French firm, to buy 126 of its Rafale warplanes for $15 billion-20 billion.
本周，印度和法國達索航空就印度斥資150~200億美元購買126架其生產的"陣風"戰斗機進入實質性的協商階段。
France has not sold a single Rafale overseas, and until this week the plane's future looked iffy.
這是法國第一次為"陣風"找到海外買家，并且直到本周"陣風"的將來看起來都是撲朔迷離的。
Shares in Dassault Aviation soared by 18.5%.
達索航空的股票應聲大漲了18.5%。
The loser, ironically, was the Rafale's cousin, the Eurofighter Typhoon, built by a consortium led by EADS, Europe's defence and aerospace champion, which is jointly controlled by Germany and France.
諷刺的是，競爭失敗的是"陣風"的堂兄弟——歐洲戰機公司的"臺風"戰機，"臺風"是由歐洲宇航防務集團（EADS）領導多家企業聯合制造的，該戰機由德國和法國聯合控制。
EADS itself owns a 46% stake in Dassault, a legacy of earlier French government meddling, so its own shares inched up on the news.
EADS持有達索46%的股份，這是早期法國政府干預達索遺留下來的東西，因此EADS的股票也隨著印度購買"陣風"的新聞上漲了一些。
Dassault won its exclusive-bidder status by offering the lower price.
達索通過低價投標贏得合同。
Both European jets had satisfied the technical requirements of the Indian Air Force, which wants zippier planes to guard against China's Chengdu J-10 combat aircraft and Pakistan's ageing American F-16s.
兩種歐洲的戰機都能滿足印度空軍的技術需求，他們需要反應速度快，能對抗中國成飛的殲-10和巴基斯坦過時的美制F-16s。
In tests over the Himalayas and the desert, India had eliminated the F-16 and F/A-18, the Russian MiG-35 and Swedish JAS 39 Gripen from the process during 2009-10.
2009-2010期間，印度在喜馬拉雅山脈和拉賈斯坦邦的沙漠進行了試飛測試，而后放棄了F-16，F/A-18，俄制米格-35和瑞典制JAS 39鷹獅戰機。
The capabilities of both the Rafale and the Eurofighter were on display during the Libyan war.
"陣風"和"臺風"的能力都已經在利比亞戰爭中顯示過了。
The Typhoon is the superior air-to-air interceptor.
"臺風"在空對空的截擊方面更有優勢。
The Rafale switches more easily into a ground-attack mode.
"陣風"則在對地攻擊模式中更勝一籌。
After seeing the Rafale rejected repeatedly over the past decade, by the Netherlands, South Korea, Singapore, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates and Switzerland, the French were desperate to win a contract.
在過去的十年中，"陣風"不停的被多個國家所鄙視，包括荷蘭、南韓、新加坡、摩洛哥、阿聯酋和瑞士，法國人已經對"陣風"能獲得合同不報希望。
The plane was becoming a costly embarrassment, especially for Mr Sarkozy, who has long promised a sale to Brazil but has nothing to show for his efforts.
這種戰機已經進了一個昂貴的尷尬境地，特別是對薩科奇來說，他很早就承諾會把這種戰機推銷給巴西，不過到現在也沒有兌現。
Some even wondered if the Rafale could survive with France as its only customer.
有些人甚至懷疑只有法國這一個客戶的"陣風"能否存活下去。
Now Dassault must seal the contract with India in a series of detailed negotiations over technology transfer and other conditions.
現在達索必須和印度協商敲定合同的一系列細節，包括技術轉讓和其他的條件。
India is known for switching to other bidders before finally signing a contract.
眾所周知，印度在最后簽合同之前都有可能轉而選擇其他的投標人。
"The Indians will now squeeze the French hard," says an executive on the Typhoon side.
"印度將和法國人緊緊的聯系在一起"，一位"臺風"戰機的高管說。
That said, India has used Dassault's Mirage jets for many years, and last year signed a $2.4 billion deal with Dassault,
印度已經使用達索的"幻影"戰機很多年了，去年還和達索、泰雷茲（Thales）和歐洲導彈制造商（MBDA）簽訂了24億美元的合同來升級其法國戰機。
Thales and MBDA, two other French defence firms, to upgrade its French planes.
泰雷茲和MBDA是法國的兩家國防供應商。
For the Eurofighter consortium the Indian deal is crucial too.
對于歐洲戰機聯盟，印度這筆交易也是非常關鍵的。
David Cameron, Britain's prime minister, said this week that the Typhoon is "far better" than the Rafale.
英國首相大衛 卡梅倫本周說"臺風"比"陣風"好多了。
Sales of the Typhoon, which went into service in 2004, have disappointed.
"臺風"從2004年開始銷售，但情況一直是令人失望的。
The Eurofighter member governments (Germany, Britain, Italy and Spain) have all ordered planes, but only Austria and Saudi Arabia have bought them from outside the group.
歐洲戰機聯盟成員包括德國、英國、意大利和西班牙，這些政府都下單買過"臺風"，但是在聯盟外，"臺風"只賣給了奧地利和沙特阿拉伯這兩個國家。
Eurofighter may now lower its price to rejoin the bidding for India's contract.
歐洲戰機聯盟現在可能會降低報價，希望重新加入和印度的談判。
It may also offer India the carrot of equal status as a partner in the programme, alongside the four European nations.
四個歐盟國家一起合作，并且聯盟成為這次交易的伙伴，也許能引導印度進行公平交易。
Eurofighter says it will be helped by what is turning out to be a transparent procurement process.
歐洲戰機聯盟說這有助于交易過程更加透明。
Whereas previous Indian arms deals have been dogged by accusations of corruption, this one has so far been exemplary, says an executive involved.
此前印度的軍火交易總是伴隨著貪污的指控，這次這樣做迄今為止看來都是很規范的，一位參與其中的高管說到。
Having opted out of the Eurofighter project in 1985, France's determination to go it alone in defence matters has led to the spectacle of two expensive European combat planes competing for the same big contract.
在1985年選擇離開歐洲戰機聯盟項目后，法國決定在國防上獨立，這導致了兩種昂貴的歐洲戰機會為了同一個大合同而競爭的奇怪景象。
"Europe should not have two jets fighting each other," says Zafar Khan, a defence-industry analyst at Societe Generale, a French bank. The next generation of European fighter jets, he says, should be a more co-ordinated effort.
"歐盟應該有兩種戰斗機來互相牽制"，一位來自法國興業銀行的國防工業分析師Zafar Khan說，"下一代的歐洲戰機應該能更加協調的朝一個方向努力"。
