India Aircraft Tech Proposal May Be Hard To Enforce, Ministry Says
By VIVEK RAGHUVANSHI
NEW DELHI — India wants technology transfer from whomever it picks to supply its 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA), but Defence Ministry sources say it will be tough to enforce that provision, especially if a U.S. aircraft is picked.
In its request for proposals in the estimated $10 billion program, ministry officials required that all but 18 of the aircraft be at least partially manufactured in India, with licensed production of the engines, avionics, radar, equipment, tooling, and various systems and accessories. The foreign plane maker will be required to assist Indian firms so that manufacturing can begin within 48 months of signing a contract.
It also requires that Indian partners handle depot-level maintenance and support for the aircraft and associated equipment.
Some say negotiating such a large amount of technology transfer could delay the program up to four years.
Ministry sources said transferring technology will be easier for Russian and European firms, which are more familiar with Indian procurement procedures, than for American companies, which will find it difficult to negotiate without involving the U.S. government.
“India’s considered political stand on some geopolitical issues as Iran is likely to create some challenges, so it may entail a delay,” said defense analyst Rahul Bhonsle, a retired Indian Army brigadier.
Several foreign vendors said they had begun looking for Indian firms to work with on bids for the contract.
“Boeing really doesn’t look at [offsets] as obligations, but as long-term opportunities to bring win-win business and industrial benefits to India and to Boeing,” said Vivek Lall, who runs Integrated Defense Systems-Boeing India, voicing the same kind of sentiment publicly expressed by EADS and Lockheed Martin, as well.
But privately, several said they doubted the firms were ready for the kind of multibillion-dollar, high-tech infusion the government is seeking. Hindustan Aeronautics has been designated the lead production agency for the airframe, engine and assembly, with production of other systems to be given to private or state-owned firms.
They also voiced displeasure with the recent increase in offset requirement from 30 percent to 50 percent. Defence Ministry sources also said the cumbersome offset laws would delay progress by more than 20 months.
All told, it could take 10 years to settle the procurement details in this contract, India’s biggest since independence, and another four or five to begin production.
“The obstacles, especially the political obstacles, will vary widely depending on who lands the deal,” said Dhruva Jaishankar, South Asia analyst at the Brookings Institution in Washington.
“The Russians are the status quo military supplier to India, so a decision to buy MiGs will produce no backlash from the political establishment. After the purchase of Mirages and Scorpene subs by India, the French have also proved politically uncontroversial, and the expectation is that other European manufacturers in competition — the Eurofighter consortium and Saab — will prove generally agreeable.
A political backlash may follow a decision to buy American — either the Super Hornet or the F-16, especially if the decision comes soon upon the heels of the Indo-U.S. nuclear agreement.”
Deba Mohanty, defense analyst with the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation, said strategic considerations likely would dictate the decision.
“It does not seem to me that the government will find difficulties in selection on technological grounds, as all of the systems in question meet almost all operational requirements,” Mohanty said. “The technical and commercial evaluation may not necessarily be a hindrance, although the former could cause some anxiety on a variety of grounds.” •
Defensenews
Making way for American buy?Or Russian…?;)
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