May 19, 200620 yr Indian Fighter Copies Costlier Than Russian Originals By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, NEW DELHI, India DefenseNews A federal watchdog May 19 blasted Indian military plane-makers for spending more on copying Russian-made Sukhoi fighter jet than it would cost to buy them. Some of the copied Sukhoi-30MKI interceptors are also flying without critical airborne systems, the Controller-Auditor General (CAG) said in a hard-hitting report about India’s military hardware manufacturers. Moscow allowed New Delhi to locally build Sukhois in the late 1990s as part of a bilateral pact to save India using up foreign exchange reserves. But the national watchdog said the deal had turned into a futile exercise, especially with India’s once low foreign exchange reserves now brimming thanks to strong foreign investment. ”The indigenous manufacture of the Russian frontline fighters is working out to cost more than imports,” it said in a report published in parliament. ”The total cost of 140 (Sukhoi) aircraft projected by the defense ministry four years ago was $4.91 billion at the 2000 price level but in a project report in 2005 the amount has been shown as $8.71 billion. ”This is an almost a 100 percent price rise,” the watchdog said, rapping India’s largest aircraft manufacturer, the state-owned Hindustan Aeronautical, Ltd for the astronomical cost overrun. The report did not say how much it would cost to buy the Sukhoi aircraft from Russia. The air force, which has acquired around 30 Sukhois from India’s largest armament supplier, is on an ambitious drive to expand its inventory with latest imports as well as locally-assembled versions of British and French war jets of its fleet.
Create an account or sign in to comment