AFP, NEW DELHI: India has ordered further trials of artillery pieces being offered by three foreign firms in a deal worth an estimated 640 million dollars, defence ministry sources said Friday.
Shortlisted Swedish-US SWS Defence, formerly Bofors AB, Israel's Soltem and Denel of South Africa are in the race for the contract to sell or jointly manufacture with India 400 tracked artillery guns for third-country export.
“The guns in the previous two trials failed to achieve the parameters set by the General Staff Requirement (GSR) and the Soltam guns could not even complete the second round of trials,” a senior military official said.
The GSR sets rigorous parameters for all military acquisitions from foreign firms as well as domestic arms companies.
The Indian army conducted a first round of trials in the arid deserts of Rajasthan state in 2002 and a year later tried rival systems in mountainous Sikkim before declaring the tests unsatisfactory, he said.
“This was an unprecedented step as normally in any new induction of weapons system, the vendors only go in for a single round of trials,” said the official, who asked not to be named.
The South African firm claims that it has finalised a separate deal for the sale of 180 self-propelled artillery pieces and 100 howitzer guns for the Indian military.
Denel says it is offering weapons with 52-calibre barrels and a range in excess of 40 kilometres (24 miles), more than India's mainstay Bofors artillery pieces, which were acquired in 1986 at a cost of 1.33 billion dollars.
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.
