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| A US 10bn dollar scramble for India's fighter jets | | |
NEW DELHI, JULY 12
With the government of India finally clearing the way for the acquisition of 126 multi-role combat aircraft, the countdown has begun for winning the world's biggest single fighter-jet contract. The inclusive deal will be valued at close to US 10 billion dollars. Despite frequent delays by the Defence Ministry in clearing the way for proposals, it is expected that the mega-deal will be finalized soon, as New Delhi has been signing new defence deals at a fast pace.
Chinese assistance to Pakistan has been instrumental in strategic projects such as the JF-17 aircraft, F22 frigates and al-Khalid tank. Pakistan-China defence relations cover the defence industry and joint defence production and development. The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) plans to buy new Chinese-made J-10 fighters in big numbers. Last year, the signing of the US 600 million dollars frigate deal was considered a milestone in the defence cooperation of Pakistan and China.
Islamabad has increased the defence budget for the current financial year to Rs275 billion from Rs250.2 billion last year. Separate allocations have been made for the purchase of JF-17 aircraft from China. Announcing a 10 per cent increase in the defence budget, the government vowed to have credible deterrence and invincible defence to ensure protection of the country's ideology and economic independence.
China is Pakistan's main supplier of military equipment, and it has been strengthening the defense industry of the South Asian country. This March, two jointly developed JF-17s arrived in Pakistan for further tests and flight evaluation. The flight evaluation to be conducted by PAF will be a great deal of help in improving the performance of aircraft, facilitating the maturity of JF-17s and making the aircraft more competitive and reliable. The JF-17 had its first public appearance in Islamabad on March 23, during a National Day Joint Services Parade flyover.
The two sides tested the first prototype in August 2003, while another test flight was made in Chengdu, Sichuan province, the following month. The flight tests of prototype aircraft in China have been moving ahead smoothly. Last year, President General Pervez Musharraf inspected the JF-17 factory and assembly line in Sichuan. With its advanced design, state-of-the-art manufacturing technology, Mach 1.6 speed, advanced avionics and excellent handling capabilities, the JF-17 is on a par with the world's most advanced light fighter jets.
In April 2005, the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex formally opened its JF-17 production facility at its Kamra factory. Production started that year, and the first four locally built aircraft were handed over to the PAF last December. The PAC plans to deliver four more aircraft this year. Serial production is planned to start this year, turning out 20 aircraft annually. In May, Pakistan signed a 600 million dollar defence deal with China, which includes construction of four F22P frigates for the Pakistan Navy, upgrading of the Karachi dockyard, and transfer of technology for indigenous production of a modern surface fleet. Under the deal, three frigates will be built in Shanghai, and the fourth will be constructed at Karachi dockyard, which will also be upgraded to enable Pakistan to build its own frigates later.
The first frigate is to be delivered to Pakistan next year and the other three by 2013 along with transfer of technology. The frigates will be equipped with helicopters specially designed for surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles along with numerous associated self-defense systems. This was the first time that the two navies reached a high-level collaboration to augment the surface fleet.
The Pakistani opposition parties accuse the government of fudging figures and understating defence-related allocations. They claim that the defence budget is actually far more than the Rs275 billion shown in official documents. The opposition parties call the ever-increasing military allocations without parliamentary oversight unjustified. They stress the need for carrying out an audit of defence expenditures by Parliament to examine whether and how much of the military budget has been used to enhance defence capability.
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