The latest round of military aid worth USD 150 million is the Biden administration’s 60th tranche of aid since August 2021, including artillery and ammunition from its own inventories, in addition to purchases of air defence systems worth USD 2.2 billion for Ukraine.
A wargame conducted last month anticipates higher prices, fewer products and reduced manpower as a result of the corporatisation of process of India’s Ordnance Factory Board that traces its origins to the early 18th century and employs an estimated 80,000-strong workforce.
Chief Procurement Officer Paul Smith told StratPost that identifying suppliers for offsets for the Indian M777 artillery order is only a small part of their USD 12 billion global supply chain requirement.
The Indian Army will receive the first BAE Systems M777 lightweight howitzer within six months from today and all 145 guns have to be delivered within 52 months.
BAE Systems and the U.S. government will deliver 25 M777 Ultra Light Howitzers off the shelf, while a further 120 will be assembled in India with Indian partner Mahindra.
The MHTK is meant to intercept a variety of targets that include rockets, artillery, mortar (C-RAM or Counter Rockets, Artillery and Mortar), as well as, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).
Before the new Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar holds the first meeting of his Defense Acquisitions Council on Friday, Air Vice Marshal (retired) Manmohan Bahadur has some ideas on energizing Indian defense industry.
The petition, filed by a group of lawyers, asks the Supreme Court to issue directions to the Union government to phase out obsolete equipment being used by the armed forces.
Check out the Ceasar artillery system mounted on an Ashok Leyland platform as Evelyne Montet shows it off at DefExpo.
DRDO’s AR Balasubramanium takes us around the Arjun Catapult at DefExpo, 2014, a system that could soon be firing salvos for Indian artillery.
The failure to consider the order by the DAC has wider implications as it is unlikely that any decision can be taken on this order by October 15, after which the value of the deal will see a 37 percent hike.
The Indian defense ministry has till October to take the US government offer for the purchase of 145 light weight howitzers at the price of USD 694 million, after which the increased price of USD 885 million will come into play.
In purely dollar terms, the new price represents a 37 percent hike in the cost of the offer to India, but would effectively be even higher given the fall in the value of the rupee against the dollar since 2010.
