Military Acquisitions, Partnerships & Developments

sum · Post by **sum** » 17 Apr 2009 15:54

Yes and conveniently, the IAF didnt find any helo upto its mark causing all the contenders to re-tender( Boeing also this time)...

JaiS · Post by **JaiS** » 24 Apr 2009 06:07

Seems like the MTA got rolling finally.

Russia launches military transport plane project with India

MOSCOW, April 23 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian government allocated $64 million in 2009 to part finance a joint project with India to develop a new military transport plane, a defense industry official said on Thursday.

Russia and India signed an intergovernmental agreement on the joint development of a multi-role transport aircraft (MTA) in 2007. The cost of the $600-mln project is being equally shared by the two countries.

India to get Phalcon AWACS on May 18

Jerusalem:

The first Phalcon was inspected by top Indian Defence officials, who came here to check the specially modified Russian Il-76 aircraft and set May 18 as the delivery date.

“The other two aircraft would be delivered by mid or late 2010, if everything goes on schedule,” defence sources said here on Thursday .

India and Israel are reported to be in advanced negotiations for the purchase of three more Phalcon AWACS, which the IAF proposes to integrate with other air and ground assets.

All the six AWACS would be linked with the country’s first military satellite proposed to be launched by mid next year.

It is an all-weather system capable of logging 60 targets simultaneously and has a range of 400 km.

JaiS · Post by **JaiS** » 07 May 2009 04:39

L&T inks pact with EADS to invest in defence biz

JaiS · Post by **JaiS** » 08 May 2009 04:22

Defence gets a leg up

Honeywell sees India growth, launches new facility

The company is collaborating with state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd in India to produce aircraft engines, Honeywell said in a statement. It is also pursuing a programme to re-engine the Indian Air Force's strike aircraft Jaguar with its turbo fan engine.

JaiS · Post by **JaiS** » 14 May 2009 06:28

Some news from April, which I missed before.

Vectra, Russian co Kamaz in heavy-duty truck JV

BANGALORE: The $800-million Vectra Group, which makes the Tatra range of trucks, has formed a joint venture with Russian truck maker Kamaz to manufacture the latter’s range of heavy duty trucks in India at an initial investment of $13 million (around Rs 65 crore). Vectra had picked up majority stake in Czech Republic-based Tatra in 2007.

Vectra will produce 5,000 trucks over the next 2-3 years at its Hosur plant, which will be partly modified to make the Kamaz range. Trucks over 13 tonnes are classified in the heavy-duty category, and include tippers, side board trucks, and tractors.

JaiS · Post by **JaiS** » 14 May 2009 07:24

IAI Introduces a Naval Rotary UAV at IMDEX 09

MALAT unveiled here the Maritime Naval Rotary Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (NRUAV) being developed with under cooperation with India. In fact, the platform for the first NRUAV is the Chetak (Alouette III), widely used by the Indian Navy. The helicopter could be deployed for mission of 6 hours, up to a distance of 120 km from the launching vessel.

For example, its radar could easily detect a patrol boat from 80 nautical miles, automatically detect and track surface targets and effectively handle 64 airborne targets.

It has been demonstrated that automatic landing, relying on closely coordinating the helicopter's flight controls in reference to the, ship's landing deck rolling under high sea conditions is safer than a pilot controlled landing under such conditions. The NRUAV features automatic take-off and landing from aviation capable ships and from unprepared landing sites.

Among the sensor suites that can be carried by the NRUAV are different Maritime Surveillance Radar systes, capable of surface and counter-submarine operation, resolution sharpening, synthetic apperture radar (SAR) and Inverse SAR modes. Electro-optical payloads are also carried. Airborne intelligence also accommodate electronic – a SIGNIT/COMINT Suite that can be carried on UAVs, like the EL/K-7071 COMINT and EL/K-7071 SIGINT systems EL/L-8385 Electronic Support measures (ESM). Among the optronic payloads, stabilized Plug-In Optronic Payload (POP) Family on display includes POP300LR Observer, Mini-POP and Multi-Mission Optronic Stabilized Payload – MOSP3000. The entire sensor suit is controlled from the ship's command information center (CIC).

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 25 May 2009 04:49

IAF drops Russia from $1 bn deal

After operating Il-78 tankers for almost six years, the Indian Air Force has said the Russian platform does not meet its requirements and it wants to deploy the Airbus A330 multi-role tanker transport (MRTT) offered by European aerospace corporation EADS.

putnanja · Post by **putnanja** » 27 May 2009 02:44

Phalcon price hike

New Delhi, May 26: Israel has hiked the price for the Phalcon airborne warning and control centres by a third after the Indian Air Force opened negotiations to order three more systems.

...
Air Force sources said the additional three Phalcons being negotiated should be inducted by 2012. But the price negotiations are taking time and even though the follow-on order means that much of the bureaucratic red tape will be bypassed, the signing of the contract is still some weeks away.

Now, the Israelis have hiked their charges and that would take the cost to more than $1.43 billion (Rs 6,800 crore approximately). If the Russians too demand higher costs for the aircraft, the negotiations could take even longer.
...
In its belly the aircraft holds 12 workstations that control radar, electronic intelligence and surveillance systems and communication equipment capable of tracking 60 targets simultaneously about 400km inside enemy territory both on the ground and in the air.

putnanja · Post by **putnanja** » 27 May 2009 03:18

First tender out for attack helicopters, US giants can now bid too

The new UPA government has issued its first defence tender to procure attack helicopters for the IAF. The tender, estimated at $600 million, was issued to five vendors on Monday, hours after A K Antony assumed charge as Defence Minister for the second consecutive term.

...
While the tenders were first issued in May 2008, the procurement process had been cancelled earlier this year after the two US companies opted out as they did not get adequate time to seek permission from Washington to take part in the contract.

This time around, sources said, the contract has been modified to include the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) route of purchase so that both Bell and Boeing can participate. This has been done by doing away with the clause which stipulated that only the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) can take part in the tender.
...
The earlier requirement of 50 per cent offsets for the deal has also been modified and the winning contender will now need to invest 30 per cent of the contract value in the Indian defence sector.
...

Dmurphy · Post by **Dmurphy** » 27 May 2009 08:27

RaviBg wrote:Phalcon price hike

They could also be negotiating about the CAEWS since the Phalcons too are competing with them.

Just speculating.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 27 May 2009 08:49

imho the EMB145 is the soln we need for gap fillers in IAF and main platform for IN.

but israel has a similar sized JSTARS soln that would be very useful for IA.
cant find a pic of it now, but looked similar to astor.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Raf-s ... -27-16.jpg

equipped with the big SAR radar could turn the tide of battle and permit synergy and economy of force, apart from catching enemy movements in any weather or light conditions.

Sumeet · Post by **Sumeet** » 27 May 2009 22:15

singha,

are you talking about this:

http://www.iai.co.il/sip_storage/files/1/33021.pdf

Katare · Post by **Katare** » 27 May 2009 22:29

Singha wrote:imho the EMB145 is the soln we need for gap fillers in IAF and main platform for IN.

but israel has a similar sized JSTARS soln that would be very useful for IA.
cant find a pic of it now, but looked similar to astor.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Raf-s ... -27-16.jpg

equipped with the big SAR radar could turn the tide of battle and permit synergy and economy of force, apart from catching enemy movements in any weather or light conditions.

We need atleast half a dozen long range ones with another dozen gap filler over next 2 decades. Immediate order for 3 more Phalcon is most welcome only!

NRao · Post by **NRao** » 28 May 2009 07:18

With all these wolves silivating at Billions of (US) Dollars, it is perhaps far better to grow in-house systems? Billions should go a long way in India it self.

vivek_ahuja · Post by **vivek_ahuja** » 28 May 2009 07:57

NRao wrote:With all these wolves silivating at Billions of (US) Dollars, it is perhaps far better to grow in-house systems? Billions should go a long way in India it self.

But not in the timeframe needed. It will take decades to turn those billions into useful hardware.

And that's not what the IAF is looking for.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 28 May 2009 08:59

yes Sumeet, but we need a bigger platform like EMB145 and more operators given the
scale and frontages compared to israel. those operator stations look like converted
business class seats with dell monitors - we need phalcon style mil grade consoles
and side facing seating probably, with rest area in back and space for a replacement
crew + air to air refueling.

even a 737/A320 based platform would not be out of order.

Sumeet · Post by **Sumeet** » 28 May 2009 23:45

I think the Army platform should be based on A320, w/ air-air refueling.

However, EMB-145 will suffice for BSF and the new NSG guard force for homeland security operations. But i haven't seen any piece of news about IA or any Indian force institutions expressing interest in this. are you aware of any ?

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 28 May 2009 23:49

No. perhaps IA is focussed on finishing up its huge land based C3I upg first before seeking airborne jstars like capability because the "shooters" and C3I nodes on ground have be networked first before they can exploit the timely intel from a jstars.

they are already fielding trailer mounted leadership nodes who can downlink UAV and satellite imint straight to field units. getting into jstars feed is a step up from there.

Sumeet · Post by **Sumeet** » 29 May 2009 00:40

Well its fine to build a C3I network, but to learn how to effectively operate this aircraft we need to start the procurement procedure now. Consider speed of our procurement process, then our need of MKIing our procurements, then induction and then few years needed to train your folks on it and hook it up with existing C4ISTAR networks, it is better if we do things concurrently.

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 29 May 2009 01:05

BBC...
Indian air force gets Awacs plane

Only a few non-Nato countries have Awacs and critics say it is a bad omen for the arms race in South Asia.

rkhanna · Post by **rkhanna** » 29 May 2009 14:05

RaviBg wrote:First tender out for attack helicopters, US giants can now bid too

The new UPA government has issued its first defence tender to procure attack helicopters for the IAF. The tender, estimated at $600 million, was issued to five vendors on Monday, hours after A K Antony assumed charge as Defence Minister for the second consecutive term.

...

Eygpt just bought 12 Apache (Block IIs) for 850 million including all spares+hellfires. Is the 600 million figure here just for airframes or the whole package?

http://www.defense-aerospace.com/articl ... pters.html

(Source: US Defense Security Cooperation Agency; issued May 26, 2009)

The US government has approved the sale to Egypt of 12 Apache Block II Longbow attack helicopters fitted with the latest sensor and avionics package. (NATO photo) WASHINGTON --- On May 22, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress of a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Egypt of 12 AH-64D Block II APACHE Longbow Helicopters and associated equipment, parts, training and support for an estimated cost of $820 million.

The Government of Egypt has requested a possible sale of 12 AH-64D Block II APACHE Longbow Helicopters, 27 T700-GE-701D Engines, 36 Modernized Targeting Acquisition and Designation Systems/Pilot Night Vision Sensors, 28 M299 Hellfire Longbow Missile Launchers, 14 AN/ALQ-144(V)3 Infrared jammers, and 14 AN/APR-39B(V)2 Radar Signal Detecting Sets.

Also included: composite horizontal stabilizers, Integrated Helmet and Display Sight Systems, repair and return, transportation, depot maintenance, spare and repair parts, support equipment, publications and technical documentation, U.S. Government and contractor technical support, and other related elements of program support.

parshuram · Post by **parshuram** » 29 May 2009 14:37

I guess It has to be spares + Weapons also with IAF to0 and they should be interested in Block -2 or Block 3 Longbow as well but going By This News Clip {Egyptian Acquisition }.. It would cost near about US 1.2 Billion To IAF . It is approx 50 % variance wrt what IAF has asked for .

Image

JaiS · Post by **JaiS** » 30 May 2009 09:31

India Turns Down Il-78 Tankers

((After 6 years using the Il-78, India has decided to replace it with Airbus A330 aircraft and not more Il-78. Not further translated.))

Source: 26.05.09, Avia.RU

JaiS · Post by **JaiS** » 31 May 2009 07:18

Boeing Says Congress Re-Election May Boost India Defense Market

“India is doing a major recapitalization of a lot of defense equipment,” Albaugh said. “We’re talking about attack helicopters, heavy helicopters, ocean surveillance and attack airplanes. Eventually they are going have some interest in airborne early warning and control.”

sum · Post by **sum** » 31 May 2009 08:59

And all the Billions we give the US will be used to cross subsidize the FMS/MNNA baksheesh of similar platforms to Pak....

abhiti · Post by **abhiti** » 31 May 2009 17:57

sum wrote:And all the Billions we give the US will be used to cross subsidize the FMS/MNNA baksheesh of similar platforms to Pak....

And the increased leverage will help Obama reach his goal on NPT...win win shall we say?

abhiti · Post by **abhiti** » 31 May 2009 18:00

Gerard wrote:BBC...
Indian air force gets Awacs plane
Only a few non-Nato countries have Awacs and critics say it is a bad omen for the arms race in South Asia.

I have seen BBC South Asia to be worst on India reporting. I watch BBC America and don't see this level of vile. What's wrong with BBC South Asia? Wasn't Preity Zinta and others part of BBC South Asia?

abhiti · Post by **abhiti** » 31 May 2009 18:02

RaviBg wrote:Phalcon price hike
New Delhi, May 26: Israel has hiked the price for the Phalcon airborne warning and control centres by a third after the Indian Air Force opened negotiations to order three more systems.

Shouldn't the officers who signed contract for just 3 systems be sent to jail for incompetence (read corruption)?

sum · Post by **sum** » 31 May 2009 19:30

abhiti wrote:
RaviBg wrote:Phalcon price hike
New Delhi, May 26: Israel has hiked the price for the Phalcon airborne warning and control centres by a third after the Indian Air Force opened negotiations to order three more systems.
Shouldn't the officers who signed contract for just 3 systems be sent to jail for incompetence (read corruption)?

There might be other issues involved(which aren't out in the open) or this might be a lifafa article...

If not, i support punishing the babus who signed the initial contract...

JaiS · Post by **JaiS** » 01 Jun 2009 05:04

SAAB’s approach to Armour in Indian desert

To attend to severe desert conditions & ensure smooth working, Barracuda has introduced the world renown Mobile Camouflage Systems (MCS) on Arjun Tank, complete with Heat Reduction Systems incorporated therein.

The trial for this system has taken place during summer of 2008 on the Arjun Tank at Suratgarh. The success has led to Indian Army thinking of implementing it on T-90s and T-72s, which have encountered identical limitations in operations in desert areas in summer.

In India, Barracuda has been at work with sophisticated missile projects having provided MSCN systems initially & recently the company confirms having made shipments of MCS kits too.

-------------- rest snipped ----------------

Dmurphy · Post by **Dmurphy** » 02 Jun 2009 07:42

The Airbus Military A330 MRTT has successfully performed first contacts using a new generation of under-wing hose and drogue refuelling pods

The Airbus Military A330 MRTT (Multi Role Tanker Transport) has completed another major milestone performing successfully a series of dry contacts using the new generation Cobham 905E hose and drogue refuelling pods, located under the wings. The receiver aircraft was a Spanish Air Force F/A-18A+ fighter.

The system performed well in hose extension and retraction, and showed good hose response in the contact as well as stability during pre-contact and when connected.

This new refuelling pod is a development of the 907E pod already in service with the Canadian and German air forces on their A310 MRTTs. The pods can each deliver up to 420 US gal/min (1600 litres/min) through a 90 ft (27.4 m) hose, and are controlled from a state-of-the-art Fuel Operator Console located in the cockpit.

"The next steps in the flight test program involve more contacts with the new hose and drogue refuelling pod and the advanced Aerial Refuelling Boom System (ARBS), refuelling a variety of receivers that will include French, Portuguese and Spanish small and large receiver aircraft. This flight test phase will lead us to the completion of military certification, and final qualification with our customer” said Miguel Morell, Vice President Airbus Military Derivative Programmes.

The A330 MRTT has been selected by the air forces of Australia, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and was chosen last year by the U.S. Air Force for its recapitalization of the service’s aging tanker fleet.

saptarishi · Post by **saptarishi** » 03 Jun 2009 18:20

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/KF04Df01.html

Indian arms spree on the fast track

The unexpected landslide victory of the Congress party in the general elections will unshackle the new Indian government from the tricky task of managing the earlier coalition for survival, especially the anti-American left parties.

There is no doubt that the team of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, all-powerful Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi, who led the election campaign, will look to firm up some of their earlier aims, given the near majority and stability that the party and its allies enjoy.

One important aspect is defense modernization, with India expected to spend over US$50 billion in the period of 2007-2012,
aimed at building an immediate strike force against Pakistan and longer-term deterrence against China.

In a report last year, the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India said the country over three years (2004-2007) spent $10.5 billion on military imports, putting it among the largest arms importers in the developing world. India's military imports are expected to reach $30 billion by 2012.

In the fray are deals for 126 multi-role fighter planes valued over $11 billion, 155-mm howitzers, a variety of helicopters and long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft.

The interim budget for the year 2009-2010 raised defense expenditures by 34% from $211 billion last year to $283 billion in 2009-2010. The outlay includes nearly $110 billion for capital expenditure.

With the exit of the left, the role of Indian private firms in defense production should get a fillip, while American defense supplies and contracts will go up to add to the competition from countries such as Israel, Russia, Britain, Sweden and France.

In a buyer's market, India will be able to negotiate deals from a position of strength.

Offset investment requirements in local defense companies and the easing of foreign direct investment requirements should boost domestic private players.

A K Antony, who continues as defense minister, said: "India needs to push for modernization of the armed forces. This does not mean only procuring of equipment. Along with that, training of the armed forces is also important."

Modernization plans in the pipeline include developing the Agni-V inter-continental nuclear capable ballistic missile that can hit targets 5,000 kilometers away and torpedoes and planes for the navy.

According to observers, while much of the Congress-led government's energies last term were utilized in tying up the India-US civilian nuclear deal and dealing with recalcitrant communist allies that had problems with such growing strategic ties, security and defense will be a key focus.

This is especially so in the wake of the brazen November terror attacks in Mumbai and the near conflict situation with Pakistan, including fears of nuclear missiles fired by rogue elements and other such attacks.

The situation shows no sign of abating.

India has been alarmed by the release this week of Hafiz Sayeed, the founder and mastermind of terrorist organization Lashker-e-Toiba responsible for some of the worst attacks in India, including the Mumbai strikes.

Referring to instability in the region, Antony highlighted the importance of vigilance and said, "Infrastructure development in the northeast and other border areas and modern equipment in coastal areas is more important and will require fast-track procurement."

India has also been particularly concerned by the US's proposed five-year $2.8 billion military aid package to Pakistan to fight militants, arms that could as easily be deployed against India. This is in addition to the $7.5 billion civilian assistance Washington will hand over to Pakistan over the next five years

Though the Pakistan economy lags India's by quite a margin and the country is seen as a failed state, it is no military weakling. Pakistan already has in its possession American F-16 fighters, advanced artillery, radars and drones. China helped the country build its missile program.

According to a US non-partisan Congressional study, "Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations", India was the biggest arms shopper over the period of 1999-2006, with agreements valued at $22.40 billion, compared to second-ranked China, while Pakistan placed seventh with $10.90 billion.

Arms in process
A former senior Indian Air Force (IAF) officer has been quoted as saying, "The modernization of armed forces has become a global trend. We must also assume a new approach, taking into account a variety of threats to our national security."

India is soon to conduct field trials for the fighter jets, one of the world's biggest ongoing arms deals.

Boeing's F/A-18 Super Hornet, Lockheed Martin F-16, Russia's MiG, Sweden's Saab Gripen, French Rafale and the Eurofighter Typhoon (a consortium of British, German, Italian and Spanish companies), are in the race for the much sought after contract.

A Defense Ministry spokesperson has said: "All the paperwork is over and a technical evaluation report on the fighters has been placed with the ministry. Security concerns are a top priority of the government and things should start rolling once the defense minister takes charge."

A defense team from India is to visit Russia next month to speed up delivery of the aircraft carrier Gorshkov for induction into the navy by 2012.

India's Defense Research and Development Organization declared it was necessary to fast-track a nearly $1 billion domestic weapons development program due to the renewed tensions with Pakistan.

The plans include the induction of 124 main battle tanks for the army and the first of a batch of locally made combat aircraft for the navy.

Last month, the Indian Air Force (IAF) inducted the first of three Israeli Phalcon AWACS, India's most potent force multiplier, capable of tracking incoming missiles while keeping an "eye" on neighboring nations without infringing on airspace. India is paying $1.1 billion for the three AWACS.

Another purchase India recently made from Israel was for aerostat radars, at a cost of $600 million, which are also used spot surreptitious guerilla attacks such as the one in Mumbai where the attackers used dingy boats to infiltrate the city.

New Delhi has also signed a $1.4 billion deal with Israel to purchase a 70km shore-based and sea borne anti-missile air defense system.

This is among the bigger defense deal between the two countries and the biggest military joint venture by India with a foreign country. Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd inked the arrangement in March this year.

India has also announced that its project to build three nuclear-powered submarines is nearing completion.

The IAF has already fast-tracked the retrofitting of Sukhoi-30MKI combat fighters with the aerial version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile jointly developed by India and Russia, post the Mumbai strikes.

The army is expediting the purchase of the latest generation Harop loitering weapon system, or missile firing drone, as well as the Heron long-duration unmanned aerial vehicles, armored vehicles and Tangushka air defense systems.

It is, however, also true that internal security and preventive intelligence are equally important to neutralize potential terror attacks.

Baljeet · Post by **Baljeet** » 04 Jun 2009 00:16

abhiti wrote:
RaviBg wrote:Phalcon price hike
New Delhi, May 26: Israel has hiked the price for the Phalcon airborne warning and control centres by a third after the Indian Air Force opened negotiations to order three more systems.
Shouldn't the officers who signed contract for just 3 systems be sent to jail for incompetence (read corruption)?

He may be a paid consultant for IAI.

As I was browsing through the archives, I found this.........30yr old but very relevant. Famous Indian Procurement Process Cartoon

Everything in triplicate

Dmurphy · Post by **Dmurphy** » 04 Jun 2009 15:19

Tata-Sikorsky Deal Ends HAL Aerospace Monopoly

NEW DELHI - The monopoly held by India's state–owned aeronautic manufacturer, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL), has been broken by the private firm Tata Advanced Systems Ltd. [TASL], which struck a joint venture with U.S.-based Sikorsky Aircraft to manufacture helicopters here.

An executive of TASL said the helicopters will be built for both defense and civil purposes, and include utility and strike versions for the armed forces.

Sikorsky is already in the race for India's program to procure 197 utility helos, along with AgustaWestland of the United Kingdom, Eurocopter of France , Kamov of Russia and Bell Helicopter of the United States.

The joint venture between TASL and Sikorsky is being set up near the central Indian city of Hyderabad in an Aerospace Special Economic Zone. The joint venture will be built at a cost of $200 million and the plant will be commissioned in one year, added the TASL executive.

Tata Group, which is the parent of TASL, already has an agreement with U.S. aerospace major Boeing to handle an initial $500 million of defense-related aerospace component work in India for export to Boeing.

Last year, TASL announced that it is joining hands with EADS to bid for the Indian Army's $1 billion advanced tactical communications system project. TASL also signed a memorandum of understanding last year with Israel Aerospace Industries to set up a defense technology company in India to jointly produce a wide range of defense and aerospace products.

Jamal K. Malik · Post by **Jamal K. Malik** » 04 Jun 2009 23:23

http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i= ... =ASI&s=TOP
7 Defense Firms in India Could Be Blacklisted

Nikhil T · Post by **Nikhil T** » 04 Jun 2009 23:47

saptarishi wrote:http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/KF04Df01.html

Indian arms spree on the fast track
The interim budget for the year 2009-2010 raised defense expenditures by 34% from $211 billion last year to $283 billion in 2009-2010. The outlay includes nearly $110 billion for capital expenditure

That's completely wrong. $110bn cap expenditure for 1 year?? That would give most arm-chair generals a wet dream.

JaiS · Post by **JaiS** » 05 Jun 2009 17:00

Boeing defers contracts

But along with this $ 2 billion order Boeing is also mandated to buy aerospace components and software worth at least $600 million from Indian firms as a part of the government's offset policy which mandates that 30 % of all defence contracts have to be sourced from local companies. So Boeing should have forged sourcing partnerships with interested companies like HCL, L&T, Wipro, BEL and HAL within 90 days of landing the P-81 contract. But UTVi now learned exclusively that Boeing has asked the ministry of defence for an extension in granting these contracts.

Russia yields after Antony burst

New Delhi, June 4: Upset with an India that is increasingly turning westwards to source its military hardware, Russia has promised to scale down the prices it has demanded and has come up with assurances of steadier supplies.

The Russians were upset that the Indian Air Force had chosen Airbus’s MRTT refueller aircraft over the Russian IL-78, the senior official said. The Indian government has not yet decided the choice of refueller.

The IAF’s mid-air refueller squadron is currently made up of Russian IL-78 aircraft but air headquarters has preferred the Airbus in trials.

“Whatever decision is taken (on which refueller to buy) will be taken on sound commercial and technical grounds,” the senior defence official said. To override the Indian Air Force’s choice, however, would be difficult.

Jamal K. Malik · Post by **Jamal K. Malik** » 05 Jun 2009 17:21

http://nosint.blogspot.com/2009/06/indi ... -roll.html

Russia has agreed to provide India kits for 50 T-90 Main Battle Tanks

negi · Post by **negi** » 06 Jun 2009 03:01

India, U.S. close to agreement on defence equipment verification

NEW DELHI: India and the United States are on the verge of finalising a standard “End User Verification Agreement” (EUVA), central to all defence deals between the two countries, instead of negotiating separate agreements for procurements.

The U.S. is keen that besides the EUVA, India also signs the Communication Interoperability and Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA) and the Logistics Support Agreement (LSA), say sources in the Defence Ministry.

After having exchanged drafts on three occasions, the last one during the February Bangalore air show, the text is being vetted in an effort to get it through during the June 10-13 visit of U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns.

“While we understand the U.S. concern for their law, the assets we have cannot be intrusively inspected without reason,” was how officials in the Ministry characterised this sensitive aspect of the agreement.

As is central in all draft agreements, it is the issue of getting the text in a form agreeable to both sides is the key. The clauses include how to define “onsite inspection” and how and where such verification, if required, could be conducted.

The officials say that while India offered to provide inventory and accountability records of the sensitive equipment to be mounted on assets acquired by it, the Americans want that besides these two records, the clauses specify opportunity to physically inspect the equipment.

India does not have such verification agreement with any other country. It provides a certificate that the equipment procured was being used for the purpose it was intended to.

The officials say that while ideally India does not want to go in for such an agreement, policymakers are aware that the U.S insistence is required under its laws. India does not want to bind itself to a document that keeps a window open for future administrations to use it either to hold up defence supplies or halt product support.

“The reality is how much trust you have. Are we opening up to a possible hold up of defence supplies and product support in future or reading too much into it,” said officials privy to negotiations.

The Defence Ministry is wary of allowing inspections at bases or forward areas, where some of the equipment could be in use.

In any case, the sources say, the verification clause could be invoked only if there are credible complaints of misuse. It is not some kind of periodic certification requirement.

Another point of negotiation is that once the standard text is signed, it will remain frozen and cannot be subjected to any future amendments to the U.S. laws with retrospective effect.

India has already signed verification agreements before the supply of equipment on troop-landing ship INS Jalashwa (USS Trenton) and Boeing Business Jets for VVIP travel.

The sources say it is not that the entire assets will be subjected to verification and only sensitive technology put on these platforms fall under its ambit.

Hm.. something which MOD should take into consideration before MRCA and other such deals.

Lalmohan · Post by **Lalmohan** » 06 Jun 2009 03:38

^^^ the pakis have Americans sitting on their bases, drinking chai and whiskey, pig sticking and counting bullets