Page 1 of 2 India's voracious appetite for arms
By Siddharth Srivastava
NEW DELHI - News reports this week that India was Israel's biggest arms
purchaser in 2006 have once again brought into focus the South Asian country's
growing defense requirements.
According to observers, India is expected to make purchases of more than US$10
billion every year over the next decade. Indian Defense Ministry estimates for
the 11th Plan show that the
country will spend more than $30 billion importing weapons during 2007-12.
"India was Israel's biggest customer, with purchases reaching US$1.5 billion"
in 2006, Major-General Yossi Ben-Hanan, the head of Sibat, the Foreign Defense
Assistance and Defense Export Department, has been quoted telling reporters in
Jerusalem this week. Israel sold $1 billion worth of defense equipment to the
US in the same period.
Israel's sales to India include the Barak naval anti-missile defense system,
valued at $450 million, Hanan said, adding that Israel was not too concerned
about the possibility of US entry into the Indian defense procurement market.
"America sells fighter jets, tanks and helicopters and we do not compete with
them," Hanan said. For Israel, missiles and anti-missile systems remain the
priority area.
New Delhi has also concluded a $220 million deal with Israel for the supply of
50 Heron drones to the army. Indian Air Force personnel are being trained to
operate the Air Early Warning and Control (AWAC) aircraft, of which three are
to be delivered soon.
Military aviation is a big area for investment, with the Indian armed forces
looking to seal deals for more than 500 aircraft, helicopters and unmanned
aerial vehicles over the next few years.
A senior official of the US Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), the main
lobby group for the US aerospace industry, has recently identified a number of
needs in India's aerospace and defense sectors, including multi-role combat
fighters, attack helicopters, radars and missiles.
According to Mark Esper, the vice president of the AIA, who recently led a
high-powered US delegation to India, there is a tremendous opportunity for US
companies to build alliances with aerospace suppliers in India.
The US entourage comprised representatives from 13 US aerospace suppliers and
several main contractors, including United Technologies, Boeing and Lockheed
Martin.
Since the visit, the the AIA has said in a survey that more than 86% of US
civil and military aerospace contractors (out of 18 that visited India as part
of the trade mission to India), including Boeing and Lockheed Martin, are
planning to form joint ventures with Indian aerospace companies this year.
It is estimated that Indian purchases in the aerospace field will be well over
$10 billion in the near future. Companies ranging from Boeing, Lockheed Martin
and BAE Systems to Sukhoi, Embraer, Bombardier and SAAB have booked their space
for Aero-India 2007, the international aerospace and defense exhibition to be
held in Bangalore next month.
The biggest deal will be the purchase of 126 multi-role fighters for the Indian
Air Force at a cost of more than $6.5 billion, which some say will rise to $10
billion. The aircraft contending for this contract are the Russian MiG-35,
French Rafale, Swedish JAS-39 Gripen, Eurofighter Typhoon and the US F/A-18
Super Hornet and F-16 Falcon.
The air force is procuring 40 Sukhoi multi-role jets from Russia as a stopgap
measure to fill in for the rapid depletion of its combat fleet. India is also
seeking to hasten the purchase of 40 second-hand French Mirage-2000 jets, 80
Russian Mi-17 helicopters and six new midair refuelers.
The army is hoping that its $2 billion long-term artillery-modernization
project for the progressive induction of towed and self-propelled
155-millimeter 52-caliber guns will take off this year.
In the recent past, India has widened its weapon-supplier base, purchasing the
Phalcon early-warning defense system aircraft from Israel in 2004 for $1.1
billion, and a slew of items from France in 2005, including six Scorpene diesel
attack submarines for $3.5 billion.
New Delhi has cleared defense procurements worth an estimated $1.5 billion from
its public defense enterprises. Nearly $1 billion comprises 20 Jaguar
ground-attack jets and an equal number of Tejas light combat aircraft for the
air force from the state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.
Last year, the head of European aerospace giant EADS said on a visit to India:
"India is becoming a major player in the aeronautics
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