CAN'T YOU GIVE THE BEST TO YOUR BOYS

(D S SARAO)

Mr Patil is your son or brother in the Armed Forces???

Press Trust of India | New Delhi

October 9, 2013 Last Updated at 14:55 IST

Examine barring of PSUs from IAF tender: Antony has asked the Defence Ministry officials to examine the issues raised by Patel.'' In letters to

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Antony, Patel

has said that PSUs( and the DRDO-sic) should be

given an equal opportunity and level playing field

and it would encourage healthy competition.''

IDR News Network

"I wonder

whether those of

our political

masters who

have been put in

charge of the

defence of the

country can

distinguish

a mortar from

a motor; a gun

from a howitzer; a guerrilla from

a gorilla, although a great many

resemble the latter."

Oh Yes ,''-- and they will fight with whatever equipment the Country builds ''. Is that what you mean Mr Patel ???Mr Antony , the DRDO is under you , what equipment do you plan to give to the Army and the IAF.And what can you build and with what standard????And you want to give mostly trash to your own Army , Navy and AF and then tell the soldiers to perform and fight!!?? Be careful ,try and say this in the Western world , the country will crucify you if you don't give the best to the 'boys' out there. The bane of the problem lies here .Who is to judge as to what is the best weapon system or tank or sub or fighter?? Obviously the user.Apparently the media, politicians and 'experts' have started taking decisions as to what is the best for the

end user.

Now compound this with the lobby which backs the DRDO , HAL and the Ordnance Factories--a failed tank which no one wants, a rifle which was beset with problems (and is now being thrown) , a load carrier(Shaktiman ) thankfully junked, Indigenous Artillery ammunition which does not perform ,air burst ammunition neither on air nor on ground, grenades which go off before 4 secs, tank and gun barrels which blow off, whimsical Artillery fuzes , ordnance factories which rip off soldiers by passing on substandard clothing including parka's, uniforms and jute (woolen)socks. Overhauled jet and chopper engines which do not meet the requisite tolerances---so what are we talking about???

Rustam-e-Hind

If you can give the quality assurance and meet the exacting standards of this very high end technology , then by all means go ahead.Where is the accountability of the project managers and the so called Directors who head these projects and factories.India will spend, over $100 billion by 2016 to upgrade aging military equipment and procure advanced new technologies. Its shopping list includes heavy-lift helicopters, submarines, tanks and howitzers.
Do you really think you have such a great technological base that you will be handle all this .And within the already critical time and financial limits.For every success there are ten failures.And even in the so called success' ( development of Brahmos , T50 Fighter ) how much do you think is the totally 'indigenous 'participation?? And what is the home made content in our ships,frigates ,the still under construction ATV and the home made carrier, other than the hull??All safety systems , weapon systems specially AD and anti sub measures, engines, fighters and choppers on board --all are 'imported ' from the super bazaar.And which aircraft trainer and Avro replacements are we discussing? Do you have the know how to make an engine and it is required now , not after five or ten years? What about the metallurgy?I am talking about a fighter/trainer jet engines and not the ISRO rocket engines or rocket science.

Where is the LCA ?? Media remarks about senior service officers cosying up to foreign conglomerates for pecuniary gain is mostly bunkum. Yes , there is corruption in the Forces too , only at a lesser scale , so how is it related to taking substandard indigenous equipment instead ? Handouts, commissions and kickbacks will take place , it is not the weapon , but the procurement system which is to be fine tuned and made time bound . Neither have we inducted the tank (in sufficient numbers), or got the fighters or the subs or the trainers or the guns/howitzers and neither have been able to make them!!For the readers I am enclosing a report of what we can expect if we have to fight with what ''we can build''

QUOTE

The T 72 Ajeya
RIP

# Arjun-Main Battle Tank- 40 year development. End product is 50% overweight and the heart of the system, the fire control system has been developed by Elbit systems in Israel

# LCA-Tejas- 30 year development. Only the control system and airframe are indigenous. All other components including the ejection seat are imported.

# Nag-Anti tank missile- 30 year delay. Failed user trials as late as last month

# Trishul-Anti aircraft missile, abandoned in 2008 after 20 years

# Kaveri engine- 16 year delay with cost escalation of 800%. Still not airworthy . Delays in the engine have compounded delays of the LCA program.

# Even the most basic items such as artillery guns and howitzers have not been produced by DRDO. The Pinaka is neither operational nor available in sufficient numbers , its full range and ammunition is still under development. The SOLTAM gun is being produced in fits and starts, the WLR only is fit for trials

# We import even the ammunition for our tanks at exorbitant prices as was pointed out by the erstwhile Chief, Gen V.K. Singh

# BEML has been unable to indigenously manufacture a truck and continues to import them from TATRA after 3 decades. Indigenization is confined to replacing tires, bolts & nuts.Scandal unlimited : No more need be said!!!

# It now appears that India will will have to start importing assault rifles to replace the standard issue INSAS rifle. Even the BSF,ITBP and CRPF don't want them.

UNQUOTE

Dr Kalam once mentioned--''the DRDO should make a commitment to the services to deliver some products, look for production partners for these products to develop force-multiplier systems''.He also mentioned that his boss Satish Dhavan (former head of ISRO) had once had told him: “If you do no work, there will be no problem.”

Agreed , but atleast dont palm off duds to your Services.

So Sir, let the best be bought if the Country cannot make it itself , do not relate it to political games and the evils of corruption in procurement processes, that issue has to be tackled anyhow.