Posted on 01/28/2010 1:50:37 AM PST by ErnstStavroBlofeld
At least half of the country's defence equipment is obsolete and needs urgent upgrade, a report said on Wednesday, underlining gaps in its defence preparedness in a region roiled by Islamist militancy and military rivalries.
Only 15 per cent of India's equipment is "state of the art", according to the first comprehensive report on the country's defence sector prepared by global consultancy firm KPMG and the Confederation of Indian Industry.
New Delhi changed its defence procurement policy last year to further open its defence sector to the world and local companies after the Mumbai attacks in November 2008, in which 166 people were killed.
The attack revealed glaring holes in the country's security system.
The new report, released by Defence Minister A K Antony, says the country will have to focus on improving homeland security after the Mumbai attacks and the government needs to support private firms in manufacturing equipment locally.
The government says it is keen to upgrade its largely Soviet-era arsenal to counter potential threats from Pakistan and China with a series of acquisitions and by phasing out old weapons.
The country has lost nearly 200 Russian-made MiG series aircraft in crashes since 1990, blamed by the air force on manufacturing defects.
The country wants to increase its air force squadrons from 34 (612 fighters) to 42 (756 fighters) by 2020 with modern aircraft. The army also needs new weapons urgently, the report said.
Bofors Howitzers were the last major acquisition made by the Army way back in 1986, it said.
"The Kargil conflict of 1999 (with Pakistan-based militants in Kashmir) highlighted the shortcomings of equipment held by the armed forces, highlighting the need to modernise the equipment portfolio," the report says.
(Excerpt) Read more at economictimes.indiatimes.com ...
How about Pakistan?
Do you have a ping list?
It seems to me that Pakistan has very state of the art equipment, since we equip them.
I have not really thought of starting a Ping list.
India and Pakistan will go at it again, and we need to either support India or mind our own business. Just like we have no business on telling Israel how they should fight against Hamas, or Hezbollah.
Keep up the good work!
Saw this?
Umm not exactly-US system is just a small part of the Pakistani arsenal.The vast majority of tanks, warplanes and missiles are Chinese in origin and about equal or inferior to Indian systems which are of Russian or European origins.
Thanks for the ping!!
They could fix that...just buy weapons made in the USA!
Thanks for the ping. much appreciated.
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