Not fighting fit
The 1.1-million strong Army is still nowhere near fighting fit. The force may have inked contracts worth Rs 11,777 crore this fiscal but none of its critical modernization projects for howitzers, helicopters, anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs), assault rifles or even night-vision devices are anywhere near closure.
Yes, matters have improved since March 2012 when the then Army chief General VK Singh complained to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh about "large-scale voids" in critical weaponry and ammunition. If 17 new contracts worth Rs 2,820 crore were signed for the Army in 2011-2012, the figure jumped to 29 contracts worth Rs 7,222 crore in 2012-2013. The tally stands at 17 contracts worth Rs 11,777 crore in the ongoing fiscal.
Army chief General Bikram Singh said another 23 contracts, worth around Rs 12,000 crore, were in the pipeline. "We are hopeful they will be inked before March 31. It's an upward trend, a healthy trend," he said. That is certainly the case. But most of the contracts inked this year are small-ticket ones, ranging from gunnery simulators and helicopter missile-warning systems to digital control harness and truck-mounted lifting devices.
The important ones approved are few and far between. These include the over Rs 2,000 crore deal for 15,000 3UBK Invar missiles for T-90S tanks and the Rs 1,200 crore one for two additional ‘troops’ of the Israeli Heron spy drones. The really critical projects are still stuck in the long-winded procurement process. Take the infantry, the largest arm with 355 battalions. Its desperate requirements for bullet-proof jackets, ballistic helmets, new-generation assault rifles with interchangeable barrels, closequarter battle carbines, light machine guns and third-generation ATGMs have all been hanging fire for several years.
The force has not inducted a single modern 155mm howitzer since the infamous Bofors scandal of the 1980s. Different artillery projects worth Rs 30,000 crore for 145 ultra-light howitzers, 100 self-propelled tracked guns, 814 mounted gun systems and 1,580 towed guns, among others, are still to come through.
The Army Aviation Corps, which had chalked out big plans to induct attack helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft in the future, is yet to get replacements even for its ageing fleet of Cheetah and Chetak helicopters. The long-delayed Rs 3,000 crore project for acquiring 197 reconnaissance and surveillance helicopters from abroad has gone into a tailspin, with the CBI now probing the project as a fallout of the VVIP chopper case. Defence PSU Hindustan Aeronautics is also running way behind schedule to develop 187 similar light utility helicopters.
From The Times of India