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India warns Israel, Russia to meet deadlines or lose defence orders


New Delhi, June 4: After a hiatus of one year, 50 T-90 tanks will roll out of an Indian factory under licensed production following the resolution of the stalemate with Russia over transfer of technology.

After the anguish expressed by the Indian establishment over the delay in the execution of various defence deals, including the T-90 tanks, Russia has reassured India that the delivery will follow the time schedule.

"We have repeatedly emphasised the timely delivery of the procured items. They (Russian officials) have reassured that supply of T-90s will remain on schedule. First 50 T-90s will roll out soon," a defence official said.


Delays in the manufacturing of the indigenous Arjun main battle tank and Pakistan's decision to purchase the T-80 from Ukraine prompted India to order 310 T-90s in 2001. Of these, 186 were assembled from kits at the Heavy Vehicles Factory at Avadi, near Chennai.

An agreement was also signed for the licensed production of another 1,000 T-90s. This, however, is yet to commence due to Russia's reluctance to transfer technology, prompting India to purchase another 300 tanks from Russia last year.

However, the localised production of the tanks had not begun till 2008.

"Last year, we did not make a single tank. At least, a beginning has been made," the official said.

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You are way too optimistic. Approx. 80% of the equipment in use by the Indian Armed Forces is of Soviet/Russian origin. $50 billion over next 30 years is not enough to upgrade all of that. Secondly, you are not getting away from a buyer-seller relationship. All you are doing is diversifying sellers. Instead of all Russia, now you have other suppliers, but be mindful that unlike Russia, the western equipment is more expensive and you can only do so much to upgrade. I have said this in other threads too, China with a comparable size of military is spending approximately 2 time each year what you are planning on spending over the next 25 years (the $50 billion that you plan to spend is dwarfed by their close to $100 billion military budget - a number that US DoD and intelligence community believes China is spending) and even then the Chinese have a long way to go.

So think along these lines. Secondly, you will be more prone to restrictive behaviour with the West owing to their holier than thou stances. So all in all, this buyer-seller relationship will continue for India over the next decade or two but in a more diversified manner.

not 50 billion over 30 years, 100 billion over 10 years.and 70-80% of that 100 billion is used on maintenance of the HUGE amount of hardware they have, payroll (i believe china pays more than India because the per person gdp is 3x higher), and also fuel for all of that in order to run. i got that 70-80% number because 20 billion out of 30 billion is used for maintenance, payroll, and fuel in India and since china has a higher per person gdp than they must pay more in the payroll and also their army is bigger.

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Indian air force gets Awacs plane


Indian air force gets Awacs plane
Indian air crew line up in front of the Awacs plane
India is the first country in South Asia to operate an Awacs aircraft

India has officially taken delivery of an Awacs early-warning surveillance aircraft, part of a $1bn (£600m) defence deal with Israel.

The plane, Russian-made but packed with Israeli radar, is expected to reinforce India's maritime security following the attacks on Mumbai last year.

Only a few non-Nato countries have Awacs and critics say it is a bad omen for the arms race in South Asia.

India has ordered another two AWACS as it upgrades its military capabilities.

The Ilyushin-76 - which arrived in India on Monday - gives India the capability to track hundreds of aircraft and potential threats at sea and on the ground, at considerable distances.

Air dominance

India is the first country in South Asia to own an Awacs (Airborne Warning and Control System) plane, popularly nicknamed the "eye in the sky". The second and third aircraft are expected to be handed over next year.

AK Antony walks in front of the Awacs plane
AK Antony (left) is concerned about the plane's late delivery

Analysts say the purchase, part of a 2004 deal involving India, Israel and Russia, is part of India's efforts to achieve air dominance over its rival, Pakistan. Russia and Israel are India's two largest military suppliers.

India's defence procurement is expected to rise to about $100bn over the next ten years.

Delhi recently signed contracts with Israel for medium range surface-to-air missiles, and with Russia for the design and development of fighter aircraft.

Other foreign defence companies, including those from the Americas, Europe and Asia, are also lining up to do business with India.

Indian Defence Minister AK Antony, who attended the Awacs handing-over ceremony at Jamnagar air base, complained about the late delivery of defence equipment ordered by India from a number of countries.

He pointed out that the Awacs should have been delivered 18 months ago.
 
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New Delhi, June 4: Upset with an India that is increasingly turning westwards to source its military hardware, Russia has promised to scale down the prices it has demanded and has come up with assurances of steadier supplies.

Indian defence secretary Vijay Singh returned this morning from Moscow where he led a team of officials to a meeting of the India-Russia High-Level Monitoring Committee. The Russian side was led by the Director-General of Military Services, Dimitriev.

Russia is by far the largest supplier of military equipment to India, and nearly 65 per cent of the Indian armed forces’ hardware is of Russian or Soviet origin. Annual military purchases from Russia total between Rs 15,000 crore and Rs 20,000 crore. India is Russia’s largest buyer.

The Russian assurances come after an outburst by defence minister A.K. Antony last week at a public ceremony in the presence of the Russian ambassador. The defence minister expressed his “anguish” at the frequent delays in the delivery of hardware.

“There is now an awareness in Russian industry of the competition they have to face (in India),” a senior defence ministry official said here today. He said there was an acknowledgement in the discussions that there were “bottlenecks and delays”.

Russia indicated that it was willing to look at a downward revision of the price that it had demanded for the aircraft carrier, the Admiral Gorshkov.

Russia had demanded an additional $2 billion for refurbishing the carrier after the vessel was contracted by India in 2004 for $964 million. India was willing to pay a total of $2.2 billion but Moscow kept insisting on a total of $ 2.9 billion.

In the latest round of meetings, however, Moscow has indicated it is willing to compromise, senior officials said. A firm price will be contracted again by July.

Last week, India paid up another $102 million for the carrier. So far, it has paid a total of $602 million.

The delivery of the carrier, being negotiated since 1997, has also been delayed. “It is floating,” an official said, to indicate that work has progressed enough. The carrier is not likely to be with the Indian Navy before the end of 2012.

The Russians were upset that the Indian Air Force had chosen Airbus’s MRTT refueller aircraft over the Russian IL-78, the senior official said. The Indian government has not yet decided the choice of refueller.

The IAF’s mid-air refueller squadron is currently made up of Russian IL-78 aircraft but air headquarters has preferred the Airbus in trials.

“Whatever decision is taken (on which refueller to buy) will be taken on sound commercial and technical grounds,” the senior defence official said. To override the Indian Air Force’s choice, however, would be difficult.

The official said the talks related to product support, supply of spares for old equipment, upgrade of MiG-29s with the IAF and transfer of technology for the T-90 tanks for the Indian Army.

The Telegraph - Calcutta (Kolkata) | Nation | Russia yields after Antony burst

Russia can not go the otherway around, It has to be the way of India.:azn:. Because India is Russia's main defence customer they cant piss off Indians. Russians are fully aware that there are men standing in line for a piece of pie.
 
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