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NEW DELHI: It's once again a toss-up between critical operational military requirements and corruption allegations, a recurring theme in India's arms procurement saga ever since the infamous Bofors scandal of the 1980s.
The defence ministry is now doing a "rethink'' on its own recent clearance to the long-pending Rs 1,800 crore naval project to buy 98 heavyweight torpedoes for the Scorpene submarines.
The reason: the 'Black Shark' torpedoes were to be bought from Whitehead Alenia Sistemi Subacquel (WASS), a subsidiary of Italian conglomerate Finmeccanica, which is under the scanner in the VVIP helicopter scam.
Curiously enough, the A K Antony-led Defence Acquisitions Council gave the green signal to the torpedo project just 10 days before the controversial Rs 3,546 crore contract for 12 VVIP helicopters with AgustaWestland, the UK-based subsidiary of Finmeccanica, was cancelled on January 1.
Even as the CBI probes the "criminality and kickbacks'' in the VVIP chopper scam, the defence ministry is grappling with the question that if the blacklisting process is to be initiated, whether it should be restricted to only AgustaWestland or include the entire Finmeccanica group? There are already 15 armament companies on its "debarred list''.
"No formal decision on blacklisting has yet been considered or taken,'' said a senior ministry official. Finmeccanica and its companies are already involved in several ongoing defence projects in India. By one estimate, the conglomerate is also in contention for Indian military contracts worth over $6 billion, ranging from helicopters and aircraft to missiles and guns.
The DAC had on December 23 cleared the acquisition of the Black Shark torpedoes to arm the six French-origin Scorpene submarines, which are being built for over Rs 23,000 crore at Mazagon Docks. "The DAC decision, which was to be approved by the finance ministry and Cabinet Committee on Security, has now been put on hold,'' said the official.
The Black Shark torpedo project has a long and chequered history. It was earlier put on hold after the vendor who lost -- German Atlas Elektronik Gmbh that produces Seahake torpedoes - complained to the Central Vigilance Commission about "irregularities'' in the selection process. But later, it was cleared by all, including a special technical oversight committee.
"National security is being compromised by frequent derailing of defence projects due to corruption, real or imagined, as well as vendor wars. As soon as a vendor loses in a tender, a paper war begins to scuttle the prospects of the company that has won,'' said an insider.
The defence ministry, which faces flak for its painfully slow and complex procurement procedures, has further muddied waters with its inconsistent policies. On one hand, it promptly banned Singapore Technologies Kinetics, South African Denel, Rheinmetall Air Defence (Zurich), Corporation Defence Russia, BVT Poland and others after corruption allegations. On the other, it refused to blacklist Israeli Aerospace Industries and Rafael despite similar charges on the ground that it would be "counter-productive'' to national security.
Defence ministry reviews move to buy torpedoes - TOI Mobile | The Times of India Mobile Site
The defence ministry is now doing a "rethink'' on its own recent clearance to the long-pending Rs 1,800 crore naval project to buy 98 heavyweight torpedoes for the Scorpene submarines.
The reason: the 'Black Shark' torpedoes were to be bought from Whitehead Alenia Sistemi Subacquel (WASS), a subsidiary of Italian conglomerate Finmeccanica, which is under the scanner in the VVIP helicopter scam.
Curiously enough, the A K Antony-led Defence Acquisitions Council gave the green signal to the torpedo project just 10 days before the controversial Rs 3,546 crore contract for 12 VVIP helicopters with AgustaWestland, the UK-based subsidiary of Finmeccanica, was cancelled on January 1.
Even as the CBI probes the "criminality and kickbacks'' in the VVIP chopper scam, the defence ministry is grappling with the question that if the blacklisting process is to be initiated, whether it should be restricted to only AgustaWestland or include the entire Finmeccanica group? There are already 15 armament companies on its "debarred list''.
"No formal decision on blacklisting has yet been considered or taken,'' said a senior ministry official. Finmeccanica and its companies are already involved in several ongoing defence projects in India. By one estimate, the conglomerate is also in contention for Indian military contracts worth over $6 billion, ranging from helicopters and aircraft to missiles and guns.
The DAC had on December 23 cleared the acquisition of the Black Shark torpedoes to arm the six French-origin Scorpene submarines, which are being built for over Rs 23,000 crore at Mazagon Docks. "The DAC decision, which was to be approved by the finance ministry and Cabinet Committee on Security, has now been put on hold,'' said the official.
The Black Shark torpedo project has a long and chequered history. It was earlier put on hold after the vendor who lost -- German Atlas Elektronik Gmbh that produces Seahake torpedoes - complained to the Central Vigilance Commission about "irregularities'' in the selection process. But later, it was cleared by all, including a special technical oversight committee.
"National security is being compromised by frequent derailing of defence projects due to corruption, real or imagined, as well as vendor wars. As soon as a vendor loses in a tender, a paper war begins to scuttle the prospects of the company that has won,'' said an insider.
The defence ministry, which faces flak for its painfully slow and complex procurement procedures, has further muddied waters with its inconsistent policies. On one hand, it promptly banned Singapore Technologies Kinetics, South African Denel, Rheinmetall Air Defence (Zurich), Corporation Defence Russia, BVT Poland and others after corruption allegations. On the other, it refused to blacklist Israeli Aerospace Industries and Rafael despite similar charges on the ground that it would be "counter-productive'' to national security.
Defence ministry reviews move to buy torpedoes - TOI Mobile | The Times of India Mobile Site
