Thread: Fed up of delays, India shops for non-Russian platforms

Fed up of delays, India shops for non-Russian platforms

New Delhi:

In an articulation of India’s annoyance over nagging delays in several key defence acquisitions, New Delhi finally seems to have decided to reduce its dependence on Russia for military hardware. Two key upcoming acquisitions that Moscow would have liked to believe it had in the bag — the next batch of three aircraft for additional Airborne Early Warning and Control Systems (AWACS) and six refueling aircraft for the Air Force — are all set to be given to non Russian companies.

The signal was clear on Thursday morning at the induction ceremony of India’s first AWACS when an unusually vocal A K Antony publicly asked the Russian ambassador to ensure that defence equipment is delivered in time.

He also took on the Israeli ambassador for delays in the Phalcon AWACS that were delivered a year-and-a-half behind schedule. Russia, followed by Israel is one of the two biggest suppliers of military equipment to India.

Antony’s outburst against delays by Russia has been preceded by action from the Indian Air Force. A top official confirmed that in the follow on order for three additional AWACS, that is likely to be placed by 2012, the Russian IL 76 aircraft will be replaced by a different plane.

While the first three Israeli AWACS to be delivered by next year will be mounted on the Russian IL 76 aircraft, when the next order is placed, the aircraft used will either be the American Gulfstream or Brazilian Embraer jets.

“We will replace the IL 76 by a modern aircraft like the Gulfstream or Embraer. Both have an endurance of nine hours that is close to what the Russian aircraft has,” an official said.

While the ageing IL 76 is one concern, the real trouble for Russia seems to be its inability to deliver the aircraft on time for the AWACS deal that was signed in 2004. Sources said that Russia overshot its schedule for modernisation of the IL 76 aircraft with new engines and avionics, leading to the programme going back by a year-and-a-half.

Another deal that Moscow would have thought it had secured — additional refueling aircraft for the IAF — is also set to go the European Airbus 330 MRTT. This comes as a surprise as India’s current fleet of air-to-air refuelers are Russian IL 78 aircraft. It would have been easier to place a follow on order for the Russian tankers and would have been far easier to operate them as maintenance facilities already exist in the country.

However, while the Russian aircraft was also considered for the contract, the IAF has placed it below the Airbus in the crucial flight evaluations that decide the procurement. IAF says that the Airbus scored way above the Russian aircraft and has given it as its preference for the contract.

India’s reluctance to order additional Russian platforms comes from several delayed deals that have been impeding defence modernisation. While in the past, smaller delays were ignored, the experience with the Gorshkov aircraft carrier was the final nail in the coffin.

Besides delaying the delivery of the carrier by over four years — it was supposed to be inducted by 2008 — Russia surprised India by asking almost twice the agreed amount for refurbishing the warship.
Fed up of delays, India shops for non-Russian platforms

With all the delays and equipment issues, Russia has finally managed to kill her "historic relationship" edge in defense deals. I think things just got much tougher for MiG for the MRCA contract.