02-21-2010, 12:11 PM
[url="http://news.rediff.com/report/2010/feb/20/us-dictating-indias-big-defence-deals.htm"]US dictating India's big defence deals?[/url]
All depends on bribes, green card, college scholarship and COngress Party kitty.
Quote:Is the government under pressure from the United States to cancel fat defence orders to the European companies and go for purchases from the American firms?
The question is being raised after Union Defence Minister A K Antony recently struck down a $1.6 billion order bagged by the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company for supply of the Airbus transport planes to the Indian Air Force.
This was yet another order legitimately won by an European defence company last year with IAF selecting the multi-role tanker transporter Airbus A330 after four years of labour to pick up the best suiting its needs, but arbitrarily cancelled by Antony without giving any reason.
Last year, a concluded deal for 197 helicopters from Eurocopter, a French-German conglomeration, was similarly cancelled by the defence ministry, which gave a very dodgy financial argument to explain why Boeing's P81 Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft was preferred over Airbus in another deal.
Another decision to award a large tender for the secured defence communication to Motorola, an American firm, over EADS, is also mired in red tape and secrecy, with no explanation coming forward from the defence ministry for dumping the winner to oblige an American firm.
...
Post-nuclear deal, the United States appear sitting pretty on actual and potential defence orders worth US $10 billion from India, and these include F-16 and F-18 multi-rope combat Falcons that may dominate India's front line air defence umbrella by next year.
Other deals that appear to be falling in the American kitty include military transport aircraft like C130J and C-17, reconnaissance and surveillance aircraft, helicopters, naval vessels, Patriot or other missiles and armoured vehicles.
Analysts say buys from the United States have implications of strategic deterrence and cost to the taxpayer, particularly because the American firms never transfer critical technology, have intrusive clauses inbuilt in every contract and the US government always holds the threat of sanctions for use of the American weapons and technology that do not suit the American interests.
All depends on bribes, green card, college scholarship and COngress Party kitty.