Welcome back to India Defence Online...If you haven't done so yet, subscribe to the RSS feed as it will save you a lot of time. Thanks for following the site!
India Defence Online, New Delhi– India will soon witness a series of high profile visits including that of the US President Barack Obama, Russian President Dmitri Medvedev and French President Nicolas Sarkozy before the end of 2010. These high-profile presidential visits are likely to coincide with the finalisation of mega arms deals and other critical military projects that are currently being envisaged and negotiated between these countries by India.
Indo-US military ties have been strengthening since India started sourcing military wares from the US through the foreign military sales (FMS) route. Only last year, India and the US finalised the contract for eight P-8I long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft at $2.1 billion. During the US President’s visit in November, India is slated to finalise the biggest-ever defence contract for ten C-17 Globemaster-III strategic airlift aircraft. The deal will happen through the FMS route again and the estimated cost is above $3 billion. India is expected to go for another six C-17s after the first ten, according to sources.
As for the Indo-French military ties, they are set to grow stronger with the imminent visit of the French President Nicolas Sarkozy this year. France is trying to clinch the Mirage-2000 fighter upgrade contract worth over $2 billion. This upgrade of 56 Mirage fighters has been under negotiation for a couple of years now since the French demanded way more than what India was ready to shell oaut. However, certain contractual details are being clarified and the deal will finally be sorted during the French President’s visit.
Meanwhile, the Russian President Dmitri Medvedev is also visiting India later this year and India is expected to join the Russian Sukhoi T-50 PAK-FA fifth-generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) project. The Sukhoi T-50 is dubbed as the world’s only operational FGFA. As for the Indian Air Force (IAF), it will be getting a customised Sukhoi T-50 PAK FA and the state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited will become the co-developer. India’s inclusion in the FGFA project may be inked during the Russian President’s visit and an estimated $6 billion will be invested by India. The first phase of the FGFA contract with Russia has been finalised, which will now go to the Cabinet Committee on Security for approval.
The finalisation of the contract for the joint production of the FGFA happened over five years ago and the project itself was conceived a decade back. The contract which HAL will sign with Russia’s United Aircraft Corpration (UAC) will incorporate the building of 250 fighters for the IAF and an equal number for Russia. The option for further orders will be kept open. HAL and UAC will be equal partners in a joint venture company. In 2009, an Indian delegation consisting of IAF officials visited Russia to witness the Sukhoi T-50, the first technology demonstrator of the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA).
Indian defence news and strategic intelligence
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
