Arms deals worth Rs 15000 crore cleared

[arnabmit]

US set to bag $5bn defence deals

US set to bag $5bn defence deals | idrw.org

Having already bagged Indian defence contracts worth over $8 billion in recent years after muscling out Russia, Israel and France, the US is now headed towards clinching another four major deals worth almost $5 billion.

Defence ministry sources on Thursday said the deals for six more C-130J " Super Hercules" aircraft ($1.2 billion), 22 Apache attack helicopters ($1.4 billion), 145 M-777 ultra-light howitzers ($885 million) and 15 Chinook heavy-lift helicopters (around $1 billion) "are in the final stages" now.

India will convey this to US deputy secretary of defence Ashton B Carter when he arrives here next week. Carter, who will hold talks with defence minister A K Antony, national security advisor Shiv Shankar Menon and defence secretary R K Mathur, is the Obamaadministration's "point man" for expanding defence trade with India as a cornerstone of the bilateral strategic ties.

"The deals should be inked within this financial year (2013-2014) despite budgetary constraints. The C-130J deal, for instance, is likely to go to the Cabinet Committee on Security in October-November," said a source.

The aircraft and howitzer deals will be direct government-to-government contracts under the US foreign military sales (FMS) programme, which does not involve competition through global tenders.

The attack and heavy-lift helicopter deals, however, were won by aviation major Boeing after its AH-64D Apache Longbow and twin-rotor Chinook helicopters outclassed Russian Mi-28 Havoc and Mi-26 choppers in field trials and commercial evaluation.

But there are "some loose ends" in the deals that need to be tied up first. The defence ministry, for instance, has told Boeing that it should drop its insistence on "limited liability clauses" being included in the agreements.

Similarly, the M-777 contract has been hanging fire since January 2010 due to field evaluation reports being "leaked" and certain other irregularities involving a top Indian Army officer. "There is an inquiry in progress but it should not be a major hurdle," said another source.

Cost escalation is another big factor. Due to the long delay, the US Defence Security Cooperation Agency last month hiked the cost of the M-777 deal from the earlier $ 647 million to $885 million for the 155mm/39-calibre howitzers.

Incidentally, the four deals are also in tune with the government's recent approval to the Rs 90,000 crore plan to raise a new mountain strike corps along with two "independent" infantry brigades and two "independent" armoured brigades (totalling over 80,000 soldiers) over the next seven years to plug operational gaps against China.

While the first six C-130J aircraft acquired by IAF are based at the Hindon airbase, the six new "Super Hercules" will be housed at Panagarh in West Bengal. Panagarh will serve as the headquarters for the new Army mountain corps.

Similarly, the air-mobile M-777 howitzers, with an almost 30-km range, can be swiftly deployed in high-altitude areas in Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh by helicopters and aircraft to counter China.

 

[Daredevil]

The defence ministry on Friday cleared several arms acquisition projects worth almost Rs 15,000 crore for the armed forces, which included six more American C-130J "Super Hercules" aircraft, 236 Russian T-90S main-battle tanks and 4,400 new light-machine guns (LMGs).

The projects were cleared in a meeting of the Defence Acquisitions Council (DAC) -- chaired by defence minister A K Antony and included the three Service chiefs and the defence secretary -- just four days before US deputy secretary of defence Ashton B Carter arrives here next week.

As first reported by TOI in its Friday edition, the C-130J deal is among the four major Indian deals worth around $5 billion that the US is all set to clinch within this financial year. The other three are for 22 Apache attack helicopters ($1.4 billion), 145 M-777 ultra-light howitzers ($885 million) and 15 Chinook heavy-lift helicopters (around $1 billion).

The new contract for six more C-130J planes - worth over Rs 4,000 crore in the direct government-to-government deal under the US foreign military sales (FMS) programme - will now go the Cabinet Committee of Security (CCS) for the final nod by next month.

While the first six C-130J aircraft already acquired by IAF are based at Hindon airbase, the six new "Super Hercules" will be housed at Panagarh in West Bengal. Panagarh will be the headquarters for the new mountain strike corps, along with two "independent" infantry brigades and two "independent" armoured brigades (totalling over 80,000 soldiers), which will be raised over the next seven years to plug operational gaps against China.

Russia - not too happy with the US bagging Indian defence deals worth over $8 billion in recent years - also had some reason to cheer on Friday with the fresh order for the 236 T-90S tanks. They will be built by the Indian Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), at a cost of around Rs 6,000 crore, under transfer of technology (ToT) from Russia. India, in 2001 and 2007, had inked two contracts worth Rs 8,525 crore with Russia to import 657 T-90S tanks. With the OFB subsequently beginning to manufacture these tanks under licensed production, the Army has till now inducted around 780 of the 1,657 T-90S tanks it eventually wants.

The LMG project is part of the Army's endeavour to overhaul the basic weaponry of its infantry soldiers, which range from new-generation assault rifles to close-quarter battle (CBQ) carbines, as reported earlier.

Infantry battalions will induct the new 7.62mm calibre LMGs, with spare barrels and an effective 1-km firing range, under the new project worth around Rs 530 crore. The project will see the OFB tying up with a foreign vendor after issuing a global tender. The existing 5.56mm LMGs have only a 700-metre range and weigh much heavier at 6.23-kg.

The US, of course, is steadily cornering a major chunk of the lucrative Indian defence market. It has already bagged defence contracts worth over $8 billion from India in recent years, including the first six C-130J aircraft for $1 billion, 10 C-17 Globemaster-III strategic-lift aircraft for $4.1 billion and eight P-8I long-range maritime patrol aircraft for $2.1 billion. Another major deal being negotiated is the follow-on order for four more P-8I aircraft for the Navy.

Arms deals worth Rs 15000 crore cleared - The Times of India

 

[drkrn]

236 t-90 = 6000 crores:shocked: really??? what do they come with?

 

[Decklander]

Sab lootlo, Next 15yrs congress will get nothing. So fill up the coffers as much as possible thru bribes.

 

[arnabmit]

I hope we go for the HK121

[video=youtube_share;tQYngk6fpIg]http://youtu.be/tQYngk6fpIg[/video]

 

[JBH22]

Which LMG are we purchasing??

Can try the Russian Pecheneg cheaper,reliable and effective..

 

[Ray]

Clearing and acquiring are two different issues.

Like money has been allotted for building roads in AP, but the environmental clearance is still in the pipeline.

Result = Zero!

 

[arnabmit]

[video=youtube_share;ad4HUcin0AE]http://youtu.be/ad4HUcin0AE[/video]

 

[pmaitra]

My take on this recent splurge:

HARDWARE	QUANTITY	PRO	CON	OVERALL
C-130J	6	Needed for maintaining the ALGs on the India-PRC front.	None.	â–²
T-90S	236	Medium tank and relatively cheap.	The money should have been spent on the Arjun.	â–¼
LMG	4400	Assuming there will be ToT, since there is tie-up with OFB. Extended range.	It is light, so chances of barrel overheating is there. The requirement to carry an extra barrel might not make it as light as claimed.	â–
AH-64	22	One of the best in anti-armour warfare.	None.	â–²
M-777	145	Easy portability. Will be very useful.	None.	â–²
CH-47	15	None, w.r.t. heavy-lift.	Not a heavy-lift helicopter. Comes across as a decision influenced by diplomacy, not operational requirement.	â–¼

 

[datguy79]

Any reason why the IAF is procuring C-130J instead of more Globemasters (besides cost)?

 

[arnabmit]

We are buying both. C-17 for strategic lifting, C-130J for tactical lifting.

Planned fleet would be 8 C-17 each and 6 C-130J each at Hindon and Panagarh air bases.

Any reason why the IAF is procuring C-130J instead of more Globemasters (besides cost)?

 

[drkrn]

We are buying both. C-17 for strategic lifting, C-130J for tactical lifting.

Planned fleet would be 8 C-17 each and 6 C-130J each at Hindon and Panagarh air bases.

so we need more c-17 than c-130j?i don't think so

 

[WMD]

My take on this recent splurge:

HARDWARE	QUANTITY	PRO	CON	OVERALL
C-130J	6	Needed for maintaining the ALGs on the India-PRC front.	None.	â–²
T-90S	236	Medium tank and relatively cheap.	The money should have been spent on the Arjun.	â–¼
LMG	4400	Assuming there will be ToT, since there is tie-up with OFB. Extended range.	It is light, so chances of barrel overheating is there. The requirement to carry an extra barrel might not make it as light as claimed.	â–
AH-64	22	One of the best in anti-armour warfare.	None.	â–²
M-777	145	Easy portability. Will be very useful.	None.	â–²
CH-47	15	None, w.r.t. heavy-lift.	Not a heavy-lift helicopter. Comes across as a decision influenced by diplomacy, not operational requirement.	â–¼

Most of recent defence purchases from western manufacturers than Russian ones seem good.
The only one that seems unreasonable is the heavy lift chopper procurement, with the Russian Mi-26 being able to carry almost double the payload than that of Chinooks.
But I suppose this decision might have have something to do with the higher service ceiling of the American chopper, because the northern borders are our primary cause of concern having a lot of bases situated at high altitudes.

 

[sayareakd]

Any reason why the IAF is procuring C-130J instead of more Globemasters (besides cost)?

immediate need is local, specially for short landing and take off for China border. Globemaster for as the name suggest for long reach, right now Afghanistan, central Asia and some other places are the area of interest and concern for us.

 

[kaustav2001]

The defence ministry on Friday cleared several arms acquisition projects worth almost Rs 15,000 crore for the armed forces, which included six more American C-130J "Super Hercules" aircraft, 236 Russian T-90S main-battle tanks and 4,400 new light-machine guns (LMGs).

Arms deals worth Rs 15000 crore cleared - The Times of India

About the 236 Russian T-90S main-battle tanks, Wonder if these are same versions we already have or the new T-90 MS types that the Army was interested in ?
From another link - India to buy planes, tanks worth Rs 10,000 crores - Hindustan Times

The defence acquisition council, headed by defence minister AK Antony, approved a follow-on order worth more than Rs. 4,000 crore for six C-130Js - configured for special operations and airborne assault.

It also paved the way for placing an order for 235 T-90 tanks worth Rs. 6,000 crore with the Ordnance Factory Board. The tanks will be manufactured with transfer of technology from Russia.

Not sure how reliable the above is though.

 

[sasi]

Any reason why the IAF is procuring C-130J instead of more Globemasters (besides cost)?

both are required. But u see c 130 is urgent, can land in ALG like DBOl

 

[sasi]

so we need more c-17 than c-130j?i don't think so

c 130-just for immediate need, MRTA come at end of the decade.

 

[arnabmit]

Why? Please explain...

so we need more c-17 than c-130j?i don't think so

 

[arnabmit]

T-90S additional purchase simply does not make sense. We still have a lot of them still to be built and inducted out of the original numbers planned. Going forward, all MBT requirement should be diverted towards Arjun MkII. Only overseas purchase should be of light tanks in the lines of WPB Anders.

They are saying they want LMG, but they want it in 7.62mm. It is not clear if the requirement is of an actual LMG, SAW or GPMG. However, HK121 with a cookoff point of over 300 rounds could be an ideal choice.

Our Mi-26:Ch-47 ratio should be in 1:2 ratio. However it actually depends on what the force wants them to lift. If it's things like fast attack vehicles or M777 under-slung, then the Chinook would suffice (Tactical lifting, with Strategic lifting delegated to fixed wings). Also in Service ceiling and landing area requirement, Chinook is more suitable for Mountain OPS. Then again, the more the lift ability, the more the options open. But Russian supply of spare parts has been so lacking that we have had to cannibalize our other Mi-26 to keep the lone one running now.

My take on this recent splurge:

HARDWARE	QUANTITY	PRO	CON	OVERALL
C-130J	6	Needed for maintaining the ALGs on the India-PRC front.	None.	â–²
T-90S	236	Medium tank and relatively cheap.	The money should have been spent on the Arjun.	â–¼
LMG	4400	Assuming there will be ToT, since there is tie-up with OFB. Extended range.	It is light, so chances of barrel overheating is there. The requirement to carry an extra barrel might not make it as light as claimed.	â–
AH-64	22	One of the best in anti-armour warfare.	None.	â–²
M-777	145	Easy portability. Will be very useful.	None.	â–²
CH-47	15	None, w.r.t. heavy-lift.	Not a heavy-lift helicopter. Comes across as a decision influenced by diplomacy, not operational requirement.	â–¼

 

[sayareakd]

T-90S additional purchase simply does not make sense. We still have a lot of them still to be built and inducted out of the original numbers planned. Going forward, all MBT requirement should be diverted towards Arjun MkII. Only overseas purchase should be of light tanks in the lines of WPB Anders.

I think that GOI is betting on T90S or T90SM at China border, as the Russian lobby and paid agent want to get pie of light tanks for China border. Lets wait and see what happens. Dont know how T90S can reach border fast, given the shape of roads.