Indian Army Chief Drops A Letter Bomb

Mar 28, 2012 By Jay Menon - AviationWeek.com

NEW DELHI - India’s “air defense is 97% obsolete,” the country’s soon-to-retire army chief Gen. V.K. Singh wrote in a recent letter to the Indian premier that discusses a number of major issues plaguing the Indian military.

The content of the letter, dated March 12, was leaked to the media March 28.

The army’s entire tank fleet is “devoid of critical ammunition to defeat enemy tanks,” the infantry is crippled with “deficiencies” and lacks night-vision equipment, and the elite special forces are “woefully short of essential weapons,” putting India’s internal security at risk, the army chief says in his letter, which has caused a serious dent to the image of the Indian government and military.

Singh also raises doubts about the quality of work at ordnance factories, and he states that the shortcomings severely erode the army’s preparedness in the event of a war.

Defense Minister A.K. Antony has been quick to respond, saying the government is committed to strengthening its forces and that the defense procurement process is under strict monitoring.

“These issues cannot be an issue of public debate . . . . Publishing the contents of secret communication cannot serve our national security,” Antony said in parliament, which has witnessed a huge uproar over the issue.

Antony says successive governments have put priority on defense preparedness, and the government is committed to providing the best equipment to its forces. “I can assure this nation it is our intention to keep [the armed forces] strong,” he says. “The government will do everything necessary to ensure that our defense forces are provided and trained to make them the best fighting forces in the world.” Antony says the government will take “appropriate action” on the letter.

Singh is scheduled to retire at the end of May and will be replaced by Lt. Gen. Bikram Singh.

On March 26, the army chief again irked the government by telling an Indian newspaper that he had informed the defense minister of a nearly $2.7 million bribe offered to him in 2010 by a defense lobbyist to approve the purchase of substandard military vehicles. The government ordered a federal probe into the matter (Aerospace DAILY, March 26).

Meanwhile, Pallam Raju, the junior defense minister, says efforts are being made to fulfill the requirements of the armed forces. “In the last three years, we have utilized the entire capital budget and there was no surrender of budget. Nevertheless, there are gaps in capabilities which we are trying to bridge as quickly as possible,” Raju says.

India’s armed forces have been on a modernization drive in recent years. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, India has emerged as the leading arms importer in the world, followed by Pakistan and China.

New Delhi also plans to boost its defense spending by almost 13% to 1.93 trillion rupees ($38 billion) in the coming fiscal year, which will be slightly higher than the 11% increase in the previous budget for the fiscal year ending March 31.

Meanwhile, India also is negotiating to acquire a slew of new equipment, from combat aircraft to submarines and artillery. It is close to signing the $12 billion contract for 126 Rafale fighters, as well as a $400 million deal for 75 Pilatus PC-7 basic trainers.

However, the country’s defense procurements have been hampered by delays and a lack of planning. In a report introduced in parliament late last year, India’s comptroller and auditor general slammed the country’s armed forces and defense ministry for causing “inordinate delays” in procuring artillery guns for more than a decade, leaving troops using obsolete varieties of 1970s vintage.

Earlier this month, India banned six defense firms that were involved in a bribery scandal—including four international vendors—from doing business in the country for the next 10 years. This has interrupted the army’s plans to acquire ultra-light howitzers for its artillery units (Aerospace DAILY, March 6).