I agree with what you have said.Aditya_V wrote:Chetak-> We are talking of strategic arms here. No some soap purchase.
Talking about customers, there is a thing called as reliable suppliers.
If Some guarantee can be given by Israeli, German, Austrian firms, you name the country, that they will set up manufacturing plants in India and no matter what happens, like a war like situation with Pukis or anther Pokran that they will continue supplies.
The truth all foreign suppliers are subject to American Veto and fact it is a lot easier to transfer arms agent commissions to foreign Banks without the scrutiny of Indian law or agencies.
Have fictitious companies in India and it can be detected much more easily than having front companies say in Italy.
We need as a nation to come with a privatisation plan for OFB's and weapons, small arms in general. While a foreign private co. can manufacture Bareeta's and Tavor's, Indian Private Industry is not allowed to enter this domain, how ironic?
Even a country like UK continues to use SA-80 which has a crappy record and not just import Colt M-4's. Which rifle in the world developed can function without problems in Siachen to Rajastan to jungles of North East and yet cost efficient and accurate upto 400 meters. Anyone developing such a weapon will face problems and more important in a Government monopoly like OFB and India Arms agent lobby. But we need to work on this and hopefully GOI irons out the Arms manufacturing policy. Imports of critical arms is like handing over the supplier your Key Foreign policy and Miltary decesions.
Next time you have terrorist attack, grin and bear it since others are not going to let you go to war. We can never stockpile 2months war reserves of weaponary, except 1971 war(thanks limited no western equipment) no nation including Israel which had lot of customised inhouse modifcations has won a war with 75% of its weaponary being imported whether India in 1962, Libya, Iraq and Syria or elsewhere. We have bitter experience of taps being turned off when we needed it. All the major powers in WW II made thier own weapons.
But... there is always a but. Our guys behave like babes in the woods.
Don't jump into something with a largely imagined capability.
If the PSU guys need training or whatever then send them abroad for courses or master's degrees or PhD's or whatever. You have to build capability any how, by hook or by crook. Don't see that happening in a planned and sustained manner.