Another report highlights the huge spares problems afflicting the IN's warships,suffering from babudom and a "Deaf Min."
Scamthony's anti-national acts-of omission and commission (pun intended), should be taken up for investigation by the next govt. as his actions can be construed as tantamount to treason.
http://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/ ... 151621.ece
Antony's Red Flag on Deals to Slow Bullish Successors
By N C Bipindra | ENS - NEW DELHI
Published: 06th April 2014
http://m.newindianexpress.com/nation/289860India’s 13.1-lakh strong armed forces may be waiting for the new government in May to sign key defence deals, but the Defence Ministry under the present UPA regime seems to be working to make that difficult.
At least three of the five major deals – cumulatively worth over Rs 1.2 lakh crore – that are almost ready and waiting to be signed have been pushed into controversies. The Defence Ministry, under A K Antony, has raised red flags and ordered inquiries into these deals, which could raise a political stink whenever these are signed.
The latest to come under the scanner is the Indian Air Force’s bid to buy six European Airbus-330 MRTT midair refuelers, said to be worth Rs 7,500 crore. The deal was ready to be signed after India had selected the Airbus platform against the Russian Ilyushin-78s tankers in the early part of 2013.
But now, after a Member of Parliament wrote to the Defence Minister complaining that the Airbus is facing a Central Bureau of Investigation probe in a nearly three-decade-old case in a civil aviation deal, Antony has ordered the procurement file for the Airbus-330 MRTT to be sent to the Law Ministry for an opinion, say officials.
This is the second time the midair refueler tender is facing rough weather.
In the case of the pro spective Rs 1-lakh-crore tender for 126 Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) too, the deal has come under a cloud after Antony said in February this year that “questions have been raised over the offsets proposals” from French firm Dassault Aviation, the winner of the deal.
The MMRCA deal was almost ready, but could not be signed by the UPA II Government in the 2013-14 fiscal due to a crunch for funds. Now, this combat planes deal would be signed by the next government soon after it takes over in May. But with Antony raising questions over the offsets proposal from Dassault Aviation, the signing of the deal, whenever it happens, would definitely face questions from whichever party is in opposition at the time.
Offsets in defence deals worth over Rs 300 crore would mandate the plough back of at least 30 per cent of the contract amount in the Indian defence, aerospace and internal security industry by the winner of the deal. The offset clause in military deals is an instrument used by governments worldwide to energise their domestic defence industry.
In the case of MMRCA, a 50 per cent offset has been fixed for the tender winner Dassault Aviation. But the proposals made by the company for offset implementation had “discrepancies” that are now being looked into, Defence Ministry sources said.
The third deal to come under a probe in the last few months is the `8,000-crore tender for 197 Light Utility Helicopters (LUH) in which the European Airbus Helicopters’ AS550C3 Fennec is the lowest bidder against Russia’s Kamov KA-226T
Major Warships Crippled by Lack of Spares for Upgrades
Posted on April 6, 2014
N C Bipindra
India’s major warships are facing a shortage of spare parts for their normal, medium and short refit programmes that might explain the regular accidents, including equipment failures that have happened in recent times.
India’s major warships are facing a shortage of spare parts for their normal, medium and short refit programmes that might explain the regular accidents, including equipment failures that have happened in recent times.
For all warships, particularly those of Russian origin, only 50 per cent spares are available with the Mumbai and Visakhapatnam naval dockyards for their refits. These are much below the demand for spares and have resulted in delays in the refit programmes or in low satisfaction levels after the refits. These refits are usually midlife upgrades of the warships, required to make these modern fighting machines last longer than their envisaged service life that could extend from 20 to 30 years.
In the 37 warships recently audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) for refit performance, it was found that lack of spare parts hit the midlife upgrades, including those of key surface combatants.
Among the warships hit include the Delhi class and Rajput class mainline Destroyers; amphibious warships such as the recently inducted INS Jalashwa bought from the US in 2007, apart from Gharial and Magar; and the Talwar class frigates built at a Russian shipyard.
Among those audited included those involved in recent accidents/incidents reported since August 2013, including INS Talwar, INS Vipul and INS Konkan.
A minor fire was reported on board INS Konkan, a minesweeper, when it was under a refit programme at the Visakhapatnam naval dockyard in early December 2013. INS Vipul, a corvette/missile vessel, reported a gaping hole found in the pillar compartment in late 2013.
Though the CAG audit has not directly linked the incidents involving the three warships in the last seven months to the lack of spares, the report submitted by the government auditor to the Parliament in February points towards the lack of best practices for maintenance of key strategic assets of the Navy and the Defence Ministry establishments in charge of procurements.
