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Proposals to acquire advanced jet trainers for the Indian Air Force and a new aircraft carrier for the Navy have run into rough weather again.
The delay in acquisition of AJTs could have a direct fallout on the air force's rate of plane crashes, that is one of the highest in the world.
According to a senior ministry of defence official, the over-a-decade-old proposal to acquire AJTs has been delayed with British Hawk manufacturers refusing to budge during price negotiations. After a hyped announcement by India and Britain that the IAF would acquire the Hawk trainers, the ministry now says it will consider other AJTs that it had earlier rejected.
The proposal from the ministry top brass will meet with stiff resistance from the air force, which has rejected the other two AJTs.
For almost a year, the ministry of defence has been claiming that it would buy the advanced jet trainers from British Aerospace. After over a decade delay in acquiring the AJTs, a few months back, India invited quotations from BAe.
Negotiations entered a rough patch when India insisted that the AJTs not have American parts. The insistence was due to difficulties India faced in maintaining defence equipment with US spare parts after sanctions were imposed in the wake of the Pokhran nuclear tests of 1998.
After agreeing to the Indian demand, the BAe stepped up its price demand and refused to budge, the senior defence ministry official said. "Now, we are thinking of other options," he said.
The other options being talked about by the ministry officials are Russian manufactured MIG-ATs and Yak-130s.
However, the air force opposes any move to reconsider the MIG-ATs and Yak-130s. They point out that these were earlier rejected. "How could they reconsider these when we have already rejected them," asked a senior air force official.
The AJT is not just another step in technical upgradation of its fleet. Its absence is said to be a major reason for the high number of accidents in the air force fleet.
Between 1979 and 1999, the air force lost 200 pilots and over 550 aircraft.
At present, pilots are initiated into flying planes, mostly MIG-21s, after training on Kiran trainers. Between these two, experts pointed out that there should be compulsory training on advanced jet trainers, which would make pilots fit enough to fly tough fighters like the single-engine MIG-21s.
The senior defence ministry official also admitted that the acquisition of the aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov for the navy may also be delayed. He said the government was considering sending yet another committee to study the latest condition of the now-abandoned ship.
A committee headed by navy chief of personnel Vice Admiral Arun Prakash had carried out a detailed study of the ship and had recommended that $800 million Russia was demanding for a refit was too high. But that was almost two years back. In the last few years, the escalation projected by the Russians for a refit was about $350 million.
The ministry of defence says MIG-29 fighters selected by the navy to be on board Gorshkov may not be the final choice.
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