Blacklisting of S?pore firm to affect artillery modernisation

The modernisation of artillery in the Indian Army will be affected with the blacklisting of Singapore Technology along with six other defence firms on charges of bribery.

The development is of particular concern as the Army has not been able to purchase a single gun in the last 23 years.

Admitting this to the media persons here at a function after inducting the Shakti Artillery Combat, Command and Control System (ACCCS) into the force, Army Chief, Gen Deepak Kapoor said, ?Till the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is able to complete the investigations, there will be delay and it will affect the procurement of ultra-light howitzers.?

Referring to ACCCS, Kapoor said the new system will help the artillery improve its lethality in the battlefield. The system has been developed and produced for the Army by the Bharat Electronics Limited, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the DG (Information Systems) of the Army. Singapore Technology?s Pegasus ultra-light howitzer was a leading contender for the Indian Army?s order for 140 guns worth Rs 2,900 crore. ?The Pegasus guns were to be field-tested this summer in Rajasthan. The blacklisting will definitely deraail the whole programme,? an Army official said, requesting anonymity.

The other blacklisted companies are Israeli Military Industries, BVT Poland and Media Architects Pvt Ltd of Singapore and three Indian companies: TS Kishan Pvt Ltd, RK Machine Tools and HYT Engineering Co. The artillery modernisation programme of the Indian Army has been delayed for over two decades and has been stuck in controversy. The Swedish howitzer gun Bofors was embroiled in a payoff scandal in the 1980s. In 2004, South African firm Denel was blacklisted derailing the artillery modernisation.

Also, the comparative trials of the indigenously built Arjun main battle tank (MBT) with the Russian T-90 equivalent have been delayed as the Army will first conduct field training with the tanks. ?The Arjun tank has just been delivered to us. It will take three-four months for the regiment to get operationalised. After that we will have comparative trials with the T-90 and assess the tank,? Kapoor said.

The comparative trials could deliver the final verdict on MBT Arjun that has been 36 years in the making and has incurred expense of $71.7 million.

The Army had insisted on the delivery of a full regiment (45 tanks) of Arjun before the comparative trials could be conducted. This demand was met when the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) delivered 16 more tanks to the Army. Earlier, the comparative trials were scheduled to be held in May-June, 2009.

?This regiment will now be subjected to conversion training and field practice for three months. After that, the Army is planning to conduct a comparative trial with T-90 tanks in October or November to assess the operational deployment role of the Arjun,? an Army official said. The DRDO needs to manufacture and deliver at least 500 tanks to make the project feasible.