The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Thursday, February 21, 2002, Chandigarh, India

THE TRIBUNE SPECIALS

50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

TERCENTENARY CELEBRATIONS

M A I N N E W S

USA, Russia eye Indian defence market
Tribune News Service

Major-Gen Bruce Scott, Chief of US Army Security Assistance Command, keenly watching navigation equipment used for T-72 battle tank at Defexpo 2002 in New Delhi on Wednesday. — PTI photo

New Delhi, February 20
It could never have been better for the Indian armed forces with the USA, Russia and Sweden, all three defence equipment giants eyeing the Indian market.

While Russia, which has traditionally been the Indian ally, was unperturbed by the challenge being put up by the American firms after the new leaf in the Indo-US defence relations, Sweden was trying hard to make a come back after the infamous Bofors scandal by offering Howitzers under a new company.

The USA termed the proposed sale of fire-finding radars to India as only the beginning. US Ambassador Robert Blackwill briefing newsmen at the Defexpo 2002 said major American armament giants were all set to make a beeline for Indian market.

“India holds out great promises and possibilities to the American arms dealers,” he said declaring that defence sales to India were “a crucial element of our transforming relationship”.

Pointing to scant US presence at the event, the US envoy attributed this to “something of a lag time” between waiving of sanctions.

“There is something of a lag time because of the sanction regime which prohibited arms sales. Now that the sanctions have been waived, big defence contractors are rearing to shift course,” he said.

Major-Gen Bruce Scott, Chief of US Army Security Assistance Command, who is heading the high-level technical delegation, accompanied Mr Blackwill to the US pavilion, said he would open talks with Indian team on the sale of AN/TPQ Firefinder Weapon Locating System.

He said Raytheon’s combat-proven firefinder radar is the first radar capable of quickly locating long-range mortars, artillery, rocket launchers and missiles, even beyond these weapons’ maximum range.

General Scott said the system, besides detection capabilities from long range, had exceptional accuracy, superior mobility rapid emplacement and displacement and reduced maintenance costs and downtime.

The US envoy said defence sales would form a crucial part of the “transforming Indo-US relations in all its dimensions. Our relationship is unrecognisable from a year ago and this will be true for arms sales also”.

Russia on the other hand said it was unperturbed over the growing competition from the USA and other major armament companies for the multi-billion dollar Indian defence. It was confident of retaining its hold, claiming negotiations for new deals including the acquisition of Russian aircraft carrier ‘Admiral Gorshkov’, were in a far advanced stage.

“New Delhi’s purpose is to choose best armaments and we have been all-weather suppliers to India and heated competition would not pose problems for us,” Viktor Komardin, Director-General of Russia’s state-owned weapon supplier Rosoboronexport, said, adding that Russians were confident of clinching the deal for the supply of ‘Smerch’ and ‘Grad’ multibarrel rocket launcher systems which have the capability of neutralising enemy forces 40 to 90 km afar.

To specific questions on the ‘Gorshkov’ negotiation, he said the deal was for a package which would include the cost of its re-fit and a fleet of MiG-29 K maritime fighter jets and Kamov combat helicopters. He said ‘Gorhskov’ flight deck had been specifically designed to suit MiG 29 Ks.

Outlining the major Russian projects currently under negotiations and implementation, Komardin said the supply of frontline T-90 C main battle tanks - the first batch of which has already arrived in India - would be speeded up. New Delhi and Moscow signed a deal last year for the supply of 310 tanks.

“We have stepped up the production of T-90 tanks to meet the Indian deadline of March 31 for supply of bulk of the total deal,” he said, adding the negotiations were also in an advanced stage for purchase by Indian Navy of “Amur” class submarine and their technology transfer to India.

India is veering round to shortlisting the French DCN “Scorpene” and Amur class conventional submarines for its 20-year plan to build 20 submarines in Indian shipyards as turnkey projects with major outside collaborations. The Russians are displaying the “Amur 1650” and “Amur-950” submarines which have increased combat possibilities and carry anti-ship missiles.

Stating that Moscow and New Delhi were engaged in 20 major joint collaborations in the defence sector, the Russian official said this included the upgradation of India’s T-72 tanks.

Meanwhile, Sweden is trying to make a comeback after the government lifted the ban on Bofors after the impressive performance of the Howitzers. The company’s new owner — the Swedish Weapon Systems (SWS) — is offering upgraded version of the gun as well as keenness to revive the 1986 agreement to manufacture the self-propelled and mounted Howitzers.

The upgraded version of the guns, FH77 BL52 and FH77 BD wheeled self-propelled guns while retaining the advantages of the combat-proven earlier Indian Army’s FH77 B had a longer range of 40 km with the standard base bleed ammunition and a longer reach of 40 km, the company’s Chairman Haken Kangert told reporters here today.

Sweden’s Bofors AB shrugging off the kickback scandal in the 1986 sale of 410 Howitzers worth about Rs 700 crore, now renamed SWS and tagged to global brands, said the company was looking forward to field trials of these new gun systems as well as mounted artillery in April in India.