Posted on 03/24/2005 6:15:04 AM PST by Gengis Khan
NEW DELHI, MARCH 23: At his meeting with top US officials later this week, Navy Chief Admiral Arun Prakash is set to send across a strong message on the P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft offer. Accompanied by his military advisor, Capt A.K. Chawla, Adm Prakash is likely to tell US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld that while the Indian Navy is serious about acquiring a fleet of 10 P-3C Orions, what is necessary is a compromise between the Pentagon’s constraints and the Indian Government’s demands.
The Pentagon has not confirmed whether Adm Prakash will meet Rumsfeld, but the Navy Chief has said a meeting has been scheduled. On Tuesday, Adm Prakash met his US counterpart Admiral Vern Clark at the Washington Navy Yard.
A senior Naval officer told Express, ‘‘Our chief is on a routine visit. But if he meets the US Defence Secretary, in all possibility, he will communicate both our interest and the perception that there needs to be an understanding between the two sides on the issue. Obviously, in this day and age, the chiefs have greater diplomatic roles to play.’’
On March 18, Adm Prakash had told Express, ‘‘My US visit is a routine one. Chiefs do not inspect offers, there are other officers for that. I will be visiting the Pentagon and will meet Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and possibly discuss the offers that Washington has made.’’
India has stuck to its stand that the Pentagon should provide a written assurance on after-sale service, supply of spares and maintenance for the Orions. However, a US Government legislation does not allow any such guarantee to another country.
The Orion issue has acquired much significance, especially with the Pentagon expressing keenness to sell a fleet to Pakistan too.
Acquiring the fleet is important for the Navy as it has problems with its existing fleet of maritime surveillance aircraft. Besides, the upgrade programme for its Goa-based squadron of Ilyushin-38s has failed to come up to the mark. And a plan to upgrade the eight Arakonam-based Tupolev-142 reconnaissance planes has been hanging fire.
.WASH FES8
Washington, Mar 18 (PTI) The Indian attitude towards cooperation with the US is changing and the country has demonstrated new willingness to open up to America and it is in the US interest to respond, two members of an American delegation visiting India recently have said. "On our visit to India last month as co-leaders of a US-India business Council Group of American defence-industry officials, we witnessed what can only be described as a sea change in Indian attitudes towards cooperation with the US," former Ambassador to India Thomas Pickering and retired General Joe Ralston wrote in The Wall Street Journal.
"There is broad recognition emerging throughout all levels of the Indian Government and business community of the distance that the US-Indian relationship has travelled," said Pickering and Ralston, who headed the delegation, comprising 12 American defence companies and 16 senior executives.
"The close cooperation that occurred in January between New Delhi and Washington following the disastrous tsunami in Asia would not have been possible just a year ago. US and Indian military forces train together in India and operate jointly in the South Asia region. Washington and New Delhi share sensitive intelligence on mutual threats both countries face in dealing with global and local terrorism," they wrote.
Senior Indian government officials with whom we met emphasized a new willingness and desire to move forward in the strategic relationship with the US, they said. PTI
http://www.ptinews.com/pti/ptisite.nsf/All/BD2FB7A35130C2FD65256FC80017CD14
Indian Naval chief in US to enhance bilateral ties, acquisition Mar 24, 2005 03:17:00 AM
.WASHING FGN1
Washington, Mar 24 (PTI) Indo-US naval cooperation and acquisition of US equipment and systems were on top of the agenda when Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Arun Prakash met top American defence officials here. Talks centred on ways to further strengthen military ties between the two countries, including joint exercises. All aspects of defence cooperation were discussed in the context of the transformed India-US relationship.
During his stay in Washington, Admiral Arun Prakash met with US Deputy Secretary of Defence Paul Wolfowitz, Under Secretary of Defence for Policy Douglas Feith, Secretary of Navy Gordon England and Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff General Richard Myers, an Indian embassy press release said.
The United States welcomed the excellent cooperation between the two countries in organising relief operations during the tsunami disaster and expressed admiration for the speed and scale on which India deployed its naval and air assets in this effort. The two sides reaffirmed that the bilateral relationship has been on a steadily ascendant trajectory in recent years and has gained greater strategic content.
During the current 10-day visit, Admiral Arun Prakash will visit US Navy bases and facilities at Norfolk, Newport, Colorado Springs, Seattle and Hawaii, the release said.
At Newport, he will address students and faculty of the Naval War College on current maritime issues, including the security environment in the Indian Ocean region and the role played by the Indian Navy. PTI
http://www.ptinews.com/pti%5Cptisite.nsf/0/04DEAF89817DB1EA65256FCE00163078?OpenDocument
http://www.ptinews.com/pti/ptisite.nsf/All/BD2FB7A35130C2FD65256FC80017CD14
http://www.ptinews.com/pti%5Cptisite.nsf/0/04DEAF89817DB1EA65256FCE00163078?OpenDocument
They should be buying into those nice, sleek, fast JETS like our own government wants to do!
Could be they know the P-3 is the best damn ASW and MAP aircraft ever created.
Information news Ping thank you
Hey, they desperately wanted those Russian aircraft - let THEM figure out how to keep 'em flying!
I hope they get them. The small company I work for is a vendor of some expensive equipment on those planes........
and can handle a collision with a Chinese Mig and still land safely.......
If the US needs more ASW planes, it should buy a P-7 which is a proposed modernized version of the P-3 which is just a shortened Lockheed Electra turboprop powered airliner with lots of ASW avionics. The most important attribute it has is a long loiter time. The 737 can't match that.
As a 3,500-hour P-3 crewmember (previous life) I don't disagree with any of you, and still think an ASW/MAP 737 variant is a pork-barrel joke, the idea for which is the result of politicians and lobbyists fornicating in the back room.
The TU-142s were due for a joint upgrade with Israel & Russia.The Russians were not exactly thrilled with the Israeli stake in the project & backtracked on their commitments-that's what grounded the upgrade of the TU-142.
Roger that. Some dark night an MMA in a 60-degree bank MAD trap will lose an engine to salt spray and auger in with loss of the entire crew. Boeing didn't win the MMA competition -- Lockheed was a no-show. (from a 3,000 hour P-3 tube rat)
A 737 variant of ASW does not make sense. Subs are slow and very stealthy. P-3's are slow but not necessary to be stealthy. P-3's can fly low over the water and make tight circles. I wouldn't want to try that in a 737.......
Preaching to the choir, fella... preaching to the choir.
Wonder how much 'life' is left in some of these P3 airframes? They have to be getting a little long in the tooth?
I think that's why the IN has insisted on newer P-3C variants,which,if IIRC were built during the late 80s onwards after the US initially offered the P-3B.From what I've read LM has promised to upgrade the planes to suit the IN's requirements till around 2025.
Yeah, as a former tanker toad, I'm thinking that the 767 as a replacement for the KC-135 is a great idea, but the 737 as a P-3 replacement seems silly. For Pete's sake, ASW planes don't need to be fast! The darn boats only go 30 knots!
Good thread. The 737 will have inflight refueling capability so it can stay on station long enough to make the crew's eyes bleed.
Jets vs props. The T-56 engine and prop have become barely supportable nightmares and have been sucking the life out of the mechs. The 737 motors are supposed to run 16,000 hours in between failures! With failures being such a rarity and worldwide 737 support, there's talk of eliminating the mechs from the squadrons. When one does crap out Boeing will just fly in an engine and contractor team to replace it. The beancounters see a huge cost savings by not having mechs at O and I level and leveraging of Boeings worldwide 737 logistical support.
Who said a Maritime aircraft doesn't need to be fast? Try flying from Whidbey Island to Bahrain sometime at 275 knots!
The airframes are tired and it was discovered that the wings on a good portion of the fleet had fatigued much more then the engineers had anticipated. These birds need replacing!
But wouldn't the 787 be an even better tanker? It will also have a little bit wider fuselage so it will be better for carrying freight on the main deck. Where will the Airforce get parts for 767 tankers 50 years from now? The airlines are just about to start getting rid of their 767s. In 20 years only the Airforce will be flying them.
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