进击的巨人番号:5 More C-17 Order - India's Consolation Prize...

来源：百度文库编辑：九乡新闻网时间：2024/05/02 08:09:01

5 More C-17 Order - India's Consolation Prize to US?

Earlier this year, India didn't fulfill fully its promise of buying aircrafts from US. Instead, it turned to Europe. Facing with US broken heart, India has now decided to buy five more C-17 from US.

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Damage control: The value of the C-17 deal could be well over $7 billion. The MMRCA deal which the US lost out is valued at $10 billion

The government is moving swiftly to mollify the American establishment that is deeply upset over rejection of both their fighter aircraft from the $10 billion MMRCA (medium multirole combat aircraft) contract for the Indian Air Force.

Among the steps being taken is a decision to significantly increase the order for C-17 Globemaster-III strategic airlift aircraft from Boeing from the present projection of 10. TOI had first reported about the C-17 deal on May 13.

Besides, the Army is moving quickly to conclude a $1 billion purchase of [M-777] ultra light howitzer guns in a couple of months. An Army quality assurance team is in the US for final leg of assessments.

Sources said the American side has been told about India's interest to continue with FMS (foreign military sales) government-to-government deals as well as the decision to look at "significantly larger" order for C-17 aircraft. "Ultimately, the total C-17 purchase could be very close to the MMRCA deal," a source said.

He said the Americans were "told" at various levels about India's desire to look at purchasing five to seven more C-17 aircraft. If India were to buy seven more C-17s, then the total deal value would be well over $7 billion. Already, the IAF has a purchase order for 10 of these aircraft.

The MMRCA contract for 126 fighters in which both Boeing's F-18 and Lockheed Martin's F-16 were rejected a few days ago is worth approximately $10 billion.

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F-16

The Cabinet Committee on Security is expected to approve IAF's original projection for 10 of these transport aircraft, pegged at over $4 billion. The proposed five-to-seven more aircraft "would be approved over the next few months", sources said. Work on increasing the C-17 order is already underway. Among the security agencies set to acquire the massive military aircraft is Aviation Research Centre, the external intelligence agency RAW's aviation arm. Given its capability to airdrop over 100 commandos, C-17s would also be acquired for improving Special Forces capabilities outside of the military, sources said.

Meanwhile, the Army has dispatched a team to the US to carry out quality assurance assessments of maintenance and other technical specifications of M777, the ultra light howitzers manufactured by BAE Systems US and which is proposed to be acquired for deployment in mountains.

Once the team returns, "it wouldn't take much time to conclude the deal", sources said, adding that a June-end deadline was being looked at. He also hinted that this order too could go up, now that the government is expected to approve Army's recommendation to raise a dedicated mountain strike corps for China border.

But remember - earlier this year India wasn't buying American fighter jets - Why?

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C-17

First, the United States has a national interest in Indian strategic autonomy, because one important consequence of India's geopolitical ascent is the ballast it provides to an Asian order not subject to China's tutelage. From an American national interest perspective, it is vital that India retain strategic autonomy by growing its internal capabilities and building external partnerships with a range of important powers, including not just America but also Japan, South Korea, Australia, Indonesia, and European states.

The civilian-nuclear deal, advanced U.S. defense sales to India, technology-sharing, and other American initiatives have been designed to build Indian strength and promote Indian development. The mercantilistic idea that the ultimate goal of American policy towards India is creating a lucrative new market for American defense companies is not credible.

Second, India is not non-aligned, whatever the results of one defense sale. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh submitted his government to a no-confidence vote in 2008 over the nuclear deal with the United States -- risking the leadership of his coalition over the future of relations with the United States. India's military exercises more with America's armed forces than with any other, and the United States has emerged as a leading arms supplier to India, successfully selling it reconnaissance aircraft, transport aircraft, naval vessels, and other advanced platforms. Beyond the United States, India's growing set of partnerships are almost entirely with states along the Indo-Pacific littoral that fear the consequences of overweening Chinese power and seek to balance it.

Third, it's worth considering the perspective from New Delhi on the aircraft sale. Despite considerable progress in recent years, the United States historically has not been what Indians would call a reliable supplier of military hardware. To the contrary: It has sanctioned India repeatedly, cutting off sales of military platforms, technologies, and spare parts over several different periods. The United States has also provided advanced weaponry to India's key rivals (Pakistan since 1954, China during the 1980s).

Politically, an Indian government under frequent attack for moving closer to Washington stands to benefit from insulating itself against yet more charges of favoritism towards America by buying U.S. fighters. Another core political objective in this context is to avoid the kind of corruption scandals that have marred previous Indian defense purchases (most notably the Bofors scandal of the 1980s, which brought down an Indian government). The possibility for a potential scandal over the role of American political pressure should India buy American is a charge the country's political masters are keen to avoid, and are now immune from.

Fourth, India's decision not to shortlist the American combat aircraft was a technical determination. India's existing fleet of Russian and French aircraft, and the ground-based support infrastructure for air operations, are not closely compatible with American combat aircraft. Some argue that European fighter aircraft are more advanced than older models of U.S. combat aircraft; it is reported that several performed better in flight trials over Indian territory than their U.S. competitors. The American planes are certainly more expensive, which matters in a country with more poor people than in all of Sub-Saharan Africa. The Indian cabinet will make the ultimate political decision on the tender.

Times of India/Defense News/Foreign Policy

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