FAQs on Bofors guns and graft row

[sudhir007]

FAQs on Bofors guns and graft row | idrw.org

* What is the Bofors scandal?

In the late 1980s, there were media reports of Swedish arms producer AB Bofors having paid Rs.65 crore (approximately $12 million) as kickbacks to top Indian politicians, including then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, and officials through an Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrrocchi for selling artillery guns to the Indian Army.

* What the Bofors deal all about?

India’s defence ministry had bought howitzers for its army’s artillery units from Swedish manufacturer AB Bofors in March 1986 in a Rs.1,500 crore ($285 million) deal.

* What is a Bofors gun?

It is a 155mm 39calibre field howitzer with a range of 25-30 km. The weapon system is operated by a six-member crew and can fire at the rate of 10 rounds per minute. The howitzer can be towed at a speed of 70 kmph, while the self-propelled version moves at eight kmph.

* What was the quality of the gun?

The Bofors howitzers were used during the 1999 Kargil conflict with Pakistan and proved to be effective in pounding enemy-held positions with great accuracy.

* What is the impact of the Bofors scandal?

The Bofors episode had led to India reducing the order for the guns from the originally planned 1,500 to 410. Since then, India has not bought a single artillery gun, even though these are badly required by the army. The proposals of the Indian Army to buy at least four types of guns are still stuck at various stages of procurement.

* What’s the future for the Bofors guns?

India had got the technical knowhow from the Swedish manufacturer to produce the guns within the country. But that plan too stood suspended for 25 years. Only recently, the government asked the Ordnance Factory Board to upgrade the Bofors technology and produce the guns to meet the army’s needs.

 

[sudhir007]

BHEL may make

Even as the Bofors gun scandal continues to haunt India years after it was unearthed during the 1980s, the good news is that these guns may soon be produced at home. The country’s largest power equipment manufacturer, state-owned Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL), which is already making supplies of 76 mm and 127-mm guns to the Indian Navy, said it was looking at producing “Bofors-equivalent field guns for the Indian Army” with appropriate technology selection by the ministry of defence (MoD).



“After our successful stint with the Indian Navy to supply guns for ships, we are now in talks with the defence ministry to manufacture Bofors-equivalent field guns for the Indian Army,” BP Rao, CMD, BHEL, told Hindustan Times.

“Depending on the technology they (MoD) select, we area ready to manufacture these guns at our Haridwar factory where we have a separate manufacturing set up for guns,” said Rao.

Rao clarified that BHEL may not be the only one to manufacture such specialised guns as companies such as Mahindra and L&T were also in the race for the same.

Talks in this regard were at initial stages, a senior defence ministry official said, confirming that efforts were on to produce such guns indigenously.

Field guns or howitzers are identified by barrel diametre. The specifications for the Bofors-type howitzers is 155×45 mm, which means a barrel with a diametre of 155 and length, which is 45 times the diameter. Such guns can fire a shell up to 30 km.

While there has been no purchase of such guns since the Bofors controversy broke out in the 1980s, the government has been in talks for procuring the highest version of the 155×52-mm calibre guns.

Moreover, the recent offset policy of the ministry of defence will help in indianisation of such specialised guns produced using foreign technology, said Rao. “With the announcement of 30% technology transfer under the policy, foreign vendors would be forced to share the technology to meet such commitments.”

 

[T90TankGuy]

we had the license and blueprint of these guns 25 yr ago . but due to politics we could not produce them . hopefully now we are able to do so without too much of politics being played.

 

[Adnan Faruqi]

1. BJP have shown that its anti India.

2. Because of bofors ghost no govt. is willing to buy new howitzers and Indian army is feeling let down and our defense is at stake.

3. The accused rajiv gandhi have died and even during BJP rule they haven't find anything to accuse him. Stop playing cheap politics.

4. Atal Bihari Vajpayee and George farnandis have said that Bofors gun have a very big role in winning kargil war.

Let put an end to the misery of Indian army and stop playing cheap politics or the defense deals will suffer.