Part II of this analysis examines how the defence ministry’s Contract Negotiation Committee (CNC) interpreted an inflated cost analysis of the Eurofighter bid and undervalued the cost of the Rafale bid, five times.
Part I of this three-part analysis is a contextual reading of the February 2019 CAG report and outlines how the IAF’s MMRCA contest was fixed to get the Rafale back into the contest after it was rejected, three times, and how the threats to a Rafale win were removed.
Even after two decades since the acquisition case, the Very Short Range Air Defence (VSHORAD) search has seen a system absent from trials and failing trials, being passed as technically compliant and ending up as, apparently, the cheapest. Also problematic is the difficulty its purchase could pose by provoking U.S. sanctions under their CAATSA.
We examine lessons learned from the MMRCA contest and look at seven ways to derisk the process to prevent a repeat of the result in the earlier MMRCA competition.
Boeing and Airbus will compete in a new IAF tender for tanker aircraft being conducted for the 3rd time – this time without a Russian bid. Airbus had won both the earlier tenders that were later withdrawn.
The defence ministry has provided a singular and unconvincing defence of why it did not ask for, or entertain, a competing commercial offer for the Eurofighter Typhoon pitched by Airbus.
A breakdown of the issues that need to be resolved for the two countries to have discussions on a potential Indian fleet of F-35 aircraft, in the concluding part of this analysis.
The first part of an analysis that examines whether the time is right for the two countries to finally have a discussion on a potential Indian order of the F-35 fifth generation fighter aircraft.
Supriyo Gupta warns of a coming Artificial Intelligence apartheid, akin to the nuclear, missile and supercomputer apartheid India faced and argues that India should get ahead of AI apartheid through fighter technology.
Former naval aviator Captain K.P. Sanjeev Kumar examines the San Juan tragedy, pointing out that after half a century of operating submarines, India still does not have organic submarine rescue capability and asks why navies such as ours invest in submarines without closing the loop on submarine rescue.
India’s defence procurement continues to raise more questions than answers, points out Hemant Shivakumar, with the uncertainty over the order of Spike Anti Tank Guided Missiles (ATGMs) appearing to be the latest casualty to the ‘Make in India’ initiative.
The PLA has appointed a new armaments chief, the PLA Navy has appointed a new commissar and AVIC has displayed its AV500W unmanned autonomous helicopter.
The RFIs issued by the Indian Navy for submarines and helicopters have created a model for the implementation of Make in India in defence, which will become the standard for future programs.
Angad Singh explains why the Indian Navy faces difficulties as it begins its search for new carrier fighters.
A phone call by President Trump to PM Modi on Independence Day mentioned the setting up of a ‘2-by-2 ministerial dialogue’ between the two countries.
