US dictating India's big defence deals?

Is the government under pressure from the United States to cancel fat defence orders to the European companies and go for purchases from the American firms?

The question is being raised after Union Defence Minister A K Antony recently struck down a $1.6 billion order bagged by the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company for supply of the Airbus transport planes to the Indian Air Force.

This was yet another order legitimately won by an European defence company last year with IAF selecting the multi-role tanker transporter Airbus A330 after four years of labour to pick up the best suiting its needs, but arbitrarily cancelled by Antony without giving any reason.

Last year, a concluded deal for 197 helicopters from Eurocopter, a French-German conglomeration, was similarly cancelled by the defence ministry, which gave a very dodgy financial argument to explain why Boeing's P81 Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft was preferred over Airbus in another deal.

Another decision to award a large tender for the secured defence communication to Motorola, an American firm, over EADS, is also mired in red tape and secrecy, with no explanation coming forward from the defence ministry for dumping the winner to oblige an American firm.

Those in the IAF who laboured for four years to finally pick up Airbus A330 are disturbed over the defence minister using his red pen to strike down the contract as their efforts, energy and money incurred went down the drain, leaving unfulfilled the critical requirement of having the best to meet the defence needs.

IAF sources say the choice of A330 over the Russian Ilyushin (IL86) was made on the basis of wanting a new generation product instead of going for an existing obsolete product. Though the price quoted by the Russian aircraft manufacturer was lower than that of A330, the IAF opted for the latter, the former rather cheaper on the ground of taking the totality of the life-cycle cost over 30 years.

Defence analysts say there may not be a great conspiracy but there is certainly something wrong in the way the defence ministry is cancelling deals with the European companies despite winning the tenders and standing up to quality requirements of the Indian forces.

They point out that concluded transactions between sovereign nations do not just get cancelled.

The pertinent questions are being raised as to whether the Manmohan Singh government is succumbing to the continued American pressure as quid-pro-quo for the civilian nuclear deal.