“There have been some delays but it’s not as if things are not moving,” said navy spokesman Captain DK Sharma. Hurdles faced by projects include technology transfer, partial ban on vendors, a fund crunch, as well as delays caused due to some of them being re-launched under the Make in India plan. Besides being dogged by capability gaps in its submarine fleet, navy officials said other worries include ship-borne utility helicopters, multi-role choppers for anti-submarine and anti-ship warfare, weapons, maritime fighters and minesweepers.įormer navy chief Admiral Arun Prakash (retd) said, “Lack of decision making is a major flaw and that coupled with frequent corruption charges is creating voids in India’s military capabilities.” “The deck design is modelled on the Oto Melara 127 mm gun specifications,” he said. Italian company Oto Melara was short-listed to supply the guns but the project has been in limbo following corruption allegations against its parent firm Finmeccanica in the VVIP chopper deal, he said.īritish, Korean and Israeli firms could provide an alternative but floating a new tender would delay the project by several years. The point he is trying to make is that no decision has been taken on guns to be fitted on 12 major warships being built in the country. “Do we build a spa there?” asked a senior navy officer, pointing towards the empty bow gun deck on the pencil drawing of an Indian destroyer.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |