Posted on 04/05/2011 4:21:12 AM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
India Upset At Russian Military Parts Supply
Apr 4, 2011
By Asia-Pacific Staff
New Delhi
When it comes to Russian aerospace products, conventional wisdom is: The equipment is good, the after-market is awful.
Ask the Indian air force (IAF) and its officials would emphatically agree. Sourcing of spares and consumables for its Russian-built aircraft and weapon systems has sunk to a new low for the IAF, with the government permitting it to issue multiple global tenders for spares across a range of systems. The move marks a striking break from the Indian defense ministry’s traditional practice of contracting spares from original equipment manufacturers via Rosoboronexport.
Now the IAF is turning to vendors in Europe, Israel and the U.S. to respond to an urgent spares call for Russian-built equipment it has in inventory.
There are more than 25 tenders on the street, with more floated each day. The service needs everything from terminals and transformers for its MiG-29 fighters to main wheels for its Su-30 fleet. It also needs multiple spares for its Il-76/-78 transport fleet, Mi-26 and Mi-17 helicopters and virtually all Russian-built ground radars, including its P-19 Danubes.
The MiG-29 situation may be the most difficult. The aircraft is undergoing an extensive upgrade, which means it needs close to 150 different spare parts, including shield installations, main and nose wheels, video amplifiers and photo diodes, as well as minor items such as transformers, capacitors and resistors.
The issue goes beyond cost and poor relations with its supplier. For the IAF there is a very real day-in, day-out operational cost. For example, Il-78 refueling tankers are suffering from a lack of major parts, hobbling mission rates.
The supply problems are not new. What appears to have changed is that the IAF has finally had enough. Perhaps with more access to Western equipment, it no longer believes it has to put up with years of neglected customer service from Russia. Instead, service leaders say they want an unhindered flow of spares for their aircraft and weapons.
Indian sources indicate that Rosoboronexport—the sales agency for most Russian hardware—had put up multiple roadblocks to an assured spares supply. These variously include demands for price revisions on existing warranties and contracts, demands for advances on warehousing spares and consumables, even demands for fresh contracts.
An official at the Russian Trade Federation in New Delhi, acknowledges that “there are some problems that need attention.” But, he adds, “global tenders for type-specific spares may be counter-productive. Also, price and economy of scale will be a major problem. The two sides need to work out these differences and get on with it.”
Russia in the past has punished customers who have tried to circumvent its supply chain by effectively restricting all support for the system in question.
A senior IAF officer familiar with the acquisition process says “it is an historic fact that after-sales relations with the Russians have always been shaky. That could be understood, if not forgiven, under the Soviet Union, but we have wasted too much time putting up with the situation now.”
Concerning the current effort to find an alternative source of supply, the officer says “the [IAF] cannot afford to waste precious time and funds contracting for critical spares, when it is the original equipment maker’s responsibility to ensure supply on any given day. When you have spares supply problems with an ongoing flagship program like the Su-30MKI, then you know something is very, very wrong.”
That’s quite amusing. Maybe the Indians should not have bought Russkie planes to begin with.
Are the Russians doing this deliberately, or are they just unable to help themselves ?
Is there any wonder this is happening? I mean geezus, this is coming from the same people who built the Yugo and continue to have a hard time building their own indigenous home computers..... /s =.=
Serves them right for dealing with evil liars who seek global domination however they can get it.
Do not be fooled. Communism did NOT die in the Soviet Union.
Be on the lookout for a New Soviet Union.
They are probably following the business model of the ink-jet printer sellers. Sell the product at a heavily promoted low price, then clean up on the after-sale monopoly. But they are also incompetent, and can’t even run a good monopoly.
bttt
“They are probably following the business model of the ink-jet printer sellers. Sell the product at a heavily promoted low price, then clean up on the after-sale monopoly. But they are also incompetent, and can’t even run a good monopoly.”
Classic. I bought a computer, maybe 10 years ago, and it came with a little, crappy, ink jet printer, that used very tiny cartridges. I freaked out the store when I told them they could keep the printer (I already had some nice ones).
Wait a second. Aren’t the spare parts and maintenance far more revenue generating than the original sales? Russia deserves its third world status for its incompetent business sector.
You are familar with the concept of “getting the customer pregnant”? Once they are invested in your equipment, their alternatives are limited. Sounds like they may be abusing the concept.
Indians are still in a far better position dealing with Russian then with Americans. Its better to get cheaper parts then to not get them at all. Better poor quality then total denial.
“Indians are still in a far better position dealing with Russian then with Americans. Its better to get cheaper parts then to not get them at all. Better poor quality then total denial.”
Well yea, the Americans parts for the MIG are just too high.
I dont know what you meant by that. What I was saying is American’s are unreliable partners when it comes to supplying weaponry and sensitive technologies to India, wasnt referring to Mig parts.
“What I was saying is American’s are unreliable partners when it comes to supplying weaponry and sensitive technologies to India”
Why should we be reliable partners when India was buying Soviet made planes?
Beacuse US had denied the sale of American made planes.
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