india to "Speed Up" Arms Purchase After Failed Tanker Deal

[Abu Zolfiqar]

Wednesday, 13 January 2010
Muharram-ul-Haram 26, 1431

​

NEW DELHI: India on Wednesday vowed to speed up arms purchases, days after scrapping a multi-billion dollar tender for six Airbus refueller planes on the grounds that the price was too high.

Defence Minister A.K. Antony said existing defence procurement policies were being re-shaped to “avoid delays and to judiciously hasten purchases” of much-needed hardware such as artillery, armour and military aircraft.

The comments came as senior defence ministry officials confirmed to AFP the scrapping of the 60 billion rupee (1.31-billion dollar) tender for the six refueller planes, which has upset the technology-starved Indian airforce.

The European aircraft maker was chosen after two years of trials to supply six A330 multi-role tanker aircraft, but earlier this month the tender was withdrawn after the finance ministry objected to the price tag.

“Airbus was the only running candidate after the Russian contenders were ruled out of the race but the reason for the tender's withdrawal two weeks ago was the high pricing,” one official said on condition he is not named. “Fresh tenders will be now floated at an early date,” he added.

Avion Media, local consultants for Airbus, said the aeronautical giant did not wish to comment.

India Air Force chief P.V. Naik complained on Tuesday that the tender's cancellation upset his plans. “We need more refuellers, which will be delayed now because we will have to restart the action,” Naik told reporters.

Antony said India's complex arms purchase policies were being changed to speed up the modernisation of the million-plus military, which depends mainly on Soviet-era east European hardware.

“Our procurement policies are not a revolutionary policy ... We have already started the next amendments,” Antony told reporters.

India in 2007 scrapped a 600-million dollar deal for 197 helicopters from Eurocopter, a unit of European aerospace giant EADS, on grounds it used a local go-between despite a local ban on the use of middlemen in defence deals.

India plans to spend 30 billion dollars on military contracts by 2014. The project includes the purchase of 126 fighter jets worth 12 billion dollars.

In addition, it will spend 10 billion dollars on homeland security before 2016, but various overseas suppliers have complained about delays in negotiations.

Pakistan concerned over Indian arms Buildup

Meanwhile, Pakistan expressed concern on Wednesday about a “massive” buildup of arms by old rival India, warning that it could jeopardise a regional balance.

The statement by the National Command Authority (NCA), which oversees Pakistan's nuclear weapons, came a day after Russian and Indian officials announced that Russia would lease its new Nerpa nuclear-powered submarine to India this year.

Relations between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan have been strained since militants raided the Indian city of Mumbai in November 2008, killing 166 people.

Recent reported remarks by India's army chief General Deepak Kapoor that his country was capable of fighting Pakistan and China at the same time, raised outrage and alarm in Pakistan.

The NCA said while Pakistan wanted to avoid an arms race, it would not compromise on its security interests and the imperative of maintaining a credible minimum nuclear deterrence.

“Massive inductions of advanced weapon systems including installation of ABMs (anti-ballistic missiles), build-up of nuclear arsenal and delivery systems ... tend to destabilise the regional balance,” the NCA said in a statement.

“This relentless pursuit of military preponderance will have severe consequences for peace and security in South Asia as well as for the Indian Ocean region. Pakistan cannot be oblivious to these developments,” it said.

The Indian army chief was also reported to have said in his recent remarks that India was capable of conducting conventional military strikes “under a nuclear umbrella”.

“Such irresponsible statements reflected a hegemonic mindset, oblivious to the dangerous implications of adventurism in a nuclearised context,” said the NCA, which is headed by Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani.

Pakistan tested nuclear devices in 1998 in response to tests by India.

–Agencies

DAWN.COM | World | India to speed up arms purchase after scrapping plane deal