A "disappointed" British Prime Minister David Cameron today said he would do "everything he can" to "encourage" India to reconsider its decision to acquire 126 French-made Rafale fighter jets instead of the UK-backed Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft.
"Of course, I will do everything I can, as I have already, to encourage the Indians to look at Typhoon," Cameron told Parliament, a day after India announced that it will opt for Dassault Rafale fighter jets under the biggest-ever military contract that may be worth over $10 billion.
"The decision is obviously disappointing," Cameron said, insisting that the contract had not yet been awarded to the French firm.
Cameron said the Typhoon, made by a European consortium including British defence company BAE Systems, was "a superb aircraft, with further capability than Rafale and we will try to encourage the Indians to take that view".
Earlier, a spokesman for Cameron said Britain would look very carefully at why India opted for Dassault's Rafale jets. "We will want to learn from that," he said.