The Hindu : India plumps for British Hawks

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Sep 04, 2003

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India plumps for British Hawks

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI SEPT 3. The Government today approved the purchase of Hawks, the advanced jet trainers (AJTs) from Britain, for training Air Force pilots. The approval was among the five decisions taken by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS). The proposal will entail an expenditure of Rs. 12,460 crores over several years.

Chaired by the Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the CCS decided to induct a total of 66 Hawks.

While 24 trainers will arrive in "fly-away" condition, the remaining will be manufactured in India under a transfer of technology agreement with the makers, British Aerospace Systems (BAe Systems).

Till the aircraft are finally acquired, BAe will train the Indian pilots in the United Kingdom. All the 66 aircraft are expected to be in service within six years. The BAe will be paid Rs. 6,000 crores and Rs. 2,000 crores has been earmarked for creating the required ground support facilities.

"This decision fulfils one of the long-standing needs of the Indian Air Force. The induction of the AJTs will increase the skill levels of our trainee pilots graduating from low speed trainers to advanced high performance frontline fighter aircraft,'' the Defence Secretary, Ajay Prasad, told newsmen. In the absence of the AJTs, such advanced training is now being conducted on operational aircraft like MiG-21 FL and, as an interim measure, the Government bought 27 second-hand MiG-trainers from Kyrgyzstan.

Nod after 21 years

The deal was approved 21 years after a committee headed by a former Indian Air Force chief first made the proposal, which was subsequently reiterated by the President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, then Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister. An inter-governmental agreement will be signed with the U.K. Government to ensure long-term product support.

The CCS also authorised a Rs. 3,000-crore modernisation for the infantry battalions of the Army.

The equipment will increase the firepower, improve communications and provide night-vision capability through hand-held thermal imagers. This will make the platoons in select formations get lethal firepower, better surveillance equipment and night-time fighting capability. The acquisition will be spread over the remaining years of the Tenth Plan, which end in the year 2007.

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