AFP, NEW DELHI: Indian Defence Minister George Fernandes has listed an effective air defence system as his highest priority and says New Delhi is seeking permission from ally Russia to deal directly with manufacturers, a report said Thursday.
Fernandes, in an interview with Defence News weekly military magazine on the sidelines of a global armament fair here, also said that New Delhi would replace its ageing attack missiles mostly through imports.
“Some of the top-priority acquisitions will be the medium multi-role combat aircraft, air defence systems, (nuclear) command and control, communications … advanced weapons for aircraft, advanced warning and control systems and force-multipliers,” he said.
The US armaments industry has offered to sell high-technology Patriot missiles to India on the back of a promise by US President George W. Bush last month to forge closer links with India over nuclear regulation, safety and missile defence.
French electronics firm Thales on Thursday unveiled details of plans to transfer critical technology to India for the construction of 19 low-level air defence radar systems within the next three years.
Fernandes said India was negotiating with its main arms supplier Russia to allow it to deal directly with arms-makers to speed up the sale of spare parts for the country's technology-starved military.
“We are trying to meet the spare parts requirement through indigenisation. Besides, we are contacting the equipment manufacturers, who may be located in Commonwealth of Independent States countries,” the defence minister said.
“We are also trying to impress upon the Russians to permit us to directly deal with the manufacturers.”
Russia accounts for 70 percent of Indian armament sales, but inordinate delays in supplying critical components especially for the airforce has often led to friction between the two sides.
India has recently turned to Britain, Israel and the United States for critical military technology despite opposition from sections of the military, that question the guaranteed stability of such relationships.
