Dassault frontrunner in billion-dollar fighter jet deal

After proffering the lowest bid, the French company may win its first contract outside of its native country to build more than 100 jets for India.

Although it’s not a done deal, India has announced the finalist to build it 126 Rafale fighter jets, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The country has tapped Dassault Aviation SA as the frontrunner for the deal, which could earn the company at least $10 billion and its first work order outside of its homeland of France, the story said.

While the contract won't likely be inked for months, if all goes well, it would mean the Rafale won over the Eurofighter Typhoon consortium.

"Dassault's bid was the lowest," a Defence Ministry official said Jan. 31. "We will be calling them for negotiations. Right now, it's only an intermediate stage of talks."