India goes arms shopping
news.bbc.co.uk
The fighting in Kashmir has prompted India to stock up
By Defence Analyst Rahul Bedi
India has embarked on a big arms buying spree after the conflict during the summer with neighbouring Pakistan in the disputed state of Kashmir.
It has bought a variety of military hardware and ordnance and is negotiating with overseas suppliers for additional equipment to modernise and upgrade its fighting capabilities at tremendous cost.
The army wants to modernise its equipment
The Indian army has demanded an extra budgetary allocation of around 60bn Rupees ($1.42m) from the government to acquire tanks, howitzers and underground sensors for enhanced operational preparedness.
It is also negotiating to acquire hugely expensive unmanned aerial vehicles, sophisticated ordnance, winter clothing and radio sets to modernise itself.
Air and naval upgrade
The air force has invited quotations from British Aerospace for around 48 Hawk advanced jet trainers (AJTs) to bring down its accident rate - one of the world's highest.
The chief of air staff, Air Chief Marshal A Y Tipnis, declared recently that the Hawks, whose induction had been delayed by over a decade, would be decided upon by the end of 1999 to improve the air force's safety record.
185 aircraft have been lost in accidents since '91
Official sources said around 60 bn Rupees ($1.42 bn) had been sanctioned for the trainers.
The IAF has lost around nearly 85 pilots and around 185 aircraft in accidents since 1991 including MiG-21 variants, MiG-23 BNs, MiG-27s and at least one French Mirage 2000 and two MiG-29s.
The Indian Navy, meanwhile, has also finalised technical details on refitting Admiral Gorshkov, the 44,500 tonne aircraft carrier, before the price negotiations for its overhaul and modifications begin later this year.
Admiral Gorshkov, which Russia has offered to India for the cost of its refit, will replace INS Vikrant, the carrier that retired over two years ago.
The cost of around 20 MiG-29 fighters for the carriers' air group would cost an additional $1 to $2 bn.
More tanks
The army, meanwhile, is buying around 200 T-90 tanks from Russia for around $2.4m each for deployment in offensive formations against Pakistan in the western desert region of Rajasthan and neighbouring Punjab state.
T-90 tanks will be deployed along the border with Pakistan
Military sources said the decision for the outright purchase of T-90 tanks to equip four to five armoured regiments by next year was to counter the large number of T-80s Pakistan had acquired recently from Ukraine.
The possibility of locally making T-90s under licence at the Heavy Vehicles Factory at Avadi in the south was also under "consideration".
Also under evaluation are seven overseas companies to uniformly equip the army's 200-odd artillery regiments with around 3,000-4,000 155 mm/52 howitzers over the next two decades through outright purchase and local, licensed manufacture.
The entire project is estimated to cost over 100bn Rupees ($2.3bn).
More than $2 bn will be spent on howitzers
The Ministry of Defence recently signed a contract worth 1.5bn Rupees to buy 1000 Russian laser-guided 155mm Krasnopol-M rounds and 10 laser finders - or around 1.4m Rupees per shell - to give the artillery an edge in precision targeting and to reduce operational costs.
India has also signed a contract with Bulgaria worth $4.5m for 3,600 under barrel grenade launchers and the same number of AK-47 assault rifles on which they will be mounted. |
