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Defense Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh on Friday, November 28, said some Indian companies over-promise and under-deliver on defense equipment, but they are not alone in flouting deadlines.
Speaking at ANI’s National Security Summit, Singh said many foreign manufacturers are also grappling with supply chain disruptions due to the ongoing conflicts.
He said, “There is a tendency to overpromise and underdeliver. We will need a stronger supply-upgrade clause. When we finalize a tender, we set deadlines for completion. Whoever signs it will have to meet that deadline, no matter which country or company is involved. We hope these steps will bring greater accountability.”
Despite the current delays, India plans to move ahead with major international collaboration on jet engines, ensuring that full intellectual property rights remain within the country.
He said, “We are finalizing our program with a leading international engine house to co-develop a 120KN jet engine, which is completely produced domestically in India with full IPR. This will soon go to the top level of the government for approval. It will happen, but it will take about 10 to 12 years.”
Russia’s S-400 delayed
Further speaking about the delay in S-400 air defense system from Russia and pending orders from Israel, the Defense Secretary said both the countries are dealing with conflict-driven production and supply challenges.
Read more: Defense Secretary Rajesh Singh says India is not going to stop cooperation with Russia
“When I talk to HAL, I will obviously question the delays, but let me say this more openly, the delays are not just on the part of the domestic manufacturers. The S-400s were delayed because of the conflict. Many Israeli orders are being delayed because of the conflict. They also have supply chain issues involving General Electric engines that HAL needs to wait for, so not all delays are solely attributable to the domestic manufacturers,” he said, as As reported by ANI.
He said the government is considering stricter rules to eliminate delays and ensure accountability among suppliers.
S-400 and Putin’s visit
The S-400 is one of the systems that was successfully used by India during Operation Swift Retort, when it shot down five to six Pakistani fighter jets and a spy plane at a range of over 300 kilometres. The system has since been described as a game-changer by the Indian Air Force, and India is looking to buy a large number of missiles from Russia worth around ₹10,000 crore.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to visit India soon, the government may discuss this order during his visit. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had earlier met Putin in Moscow along with other SCO representatives.
New step on Kaveri engine
On the Kaveri engine project, he said the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) has not been able to reach the required parameters for the fighter aircraft, but instead the engine will be used for the Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle (U-CAV) project. The technology can then be licensed to private partners.
“The decision on Kaveri is that since DRDO has not reached the required thrust-weight ratio, they will use it for their U-CAV programme. Hopefully that will allow them to license that technology to private sector partners participating in U-CAV tenders, one of which is open right now. Notable 24 Indian companies have bid for that tender with various partners,” he said.
HAL Chairman gave clarification
During this time, Hindustan Aeronautics LimitedThe company’s order book has crossed ₹2 lakh crore, with almost every product being developed indigenously, the Chairman and Managing Director of .
“Today the order book is above ₹2 lakh crore and every single product is domestic. Except for the 15 Sukhoi Su-30s on order, the remaining orders include Prachanda, Tejas, HTT-40 and Utility Helicopter Maritime (UHM), which are under development. A civil version of Dhruv is undergoing certification, and next year we will have Dhruv. All these are coming from our own design products,” he said.