British Aerospace 1Billion Hawk Jet order
mark r | 04.09.2003 10:58 | DSEi 2003 | Anti-militarism | Globalisation
BAE Systems claim the deal will safeguard 2,200 jobs though these jobs ( and the deal )are already heavily subsidized by the taxpayer. That's also 1 billion pounds that the Indian government won't use to help the country's poor then. BAE ( and Lord Bach who helped broker the deal ) must be proud of themnselves - not least in helping to fuel tension between India and Pakistan. They hope to have 24 of the jets manufactured in Britain and 42 in India. The use of the term 'trainer' seems to be consistent in BAE's media speak ( Indonesia comes to mind ) Both India and Pakistan have been invited to DSEI...
mark r
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I am sure
04.09.2003 11:54
Where will they go to get the parts for the conversion?
How much will it cost the Indian pigs to convert the trainer jets into killing machines?
ram
More pics
04.09.2003 11:56
So sorry.
He comes Vajpayee.
As usual patience is a virtue
ram
The independent's rant on this
04.09.2003 22:15
By Phil Reeves in Delhi
04 September 2003
Britain has been awarded a #1bn contract selling Hawk trainer aircraft
to India after nearly two decades of stop-start negotiations,
provoking accusations it is selling arms irresponsibly into a
notoriously unstable region.
Human rights and arms control activists attacked the deal, saying it
would exacerbate tensions in south Asia, increased last week by the
Bombay bombings. They said that the aircraft could be converted to
combat use in the conflict between India and Pakistan.
The Indian government said it had decided to buy 66 Hawk 115 advanced
jet trainers from BAE Systems, Europe's biggest weapons manufacturer,
all but clinching a sale which Tony Blair personally promoted even as
India and Pakistan were in a hostile stand-off.
India said 24 of the jets would be built at the BAE plant at Brough,
near Hull, while the remainder would be manufactured in India by a
state-owned domestic aircraft maker, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, under
a technology transfer licence with Britain. The decision, announced by
India's Defence Secretary, Ajai Prasad, was seen by British officials
as a triumph in the face of intense competition. Washington had
pressed Delhi to accept a rival bid by the Czech-American company Aero
Vodochody, which offered its L159B trainer. BAE's competitor Boeing
has a 35 per cent stake in Vodochody.
Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, said the deal would help sustain
highly skilled jobs at BAE in Brough and other aerospace companies.
Government officials said a recent decision by Britain to buy 44 Hawks
played an important part in the decision. Contracts have not been
signed but British diplomatic sources were confident the deal would go
ahead.
The move has been approved at the highest level in Delhi. The
cabinet's security committee, which made the decision, was chaired by
the Indian Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
The deal made headlines in India, which has been increasing its
defence spending in recent years, a reflection partly of its "great
power" aspirations, countering the rise of China, but also of the
chronic tensions with Pakistan. A press conference by Mr Prasad to
announce the decision was carried live on at least three 24-hour news
TV channels.
The deal was put on ice by international sanctions imposed by the West
after India conducted its nuclear tests in 1998, although these were
lifted after India sided with the Americans after 11 September.
The Indian air force, the fourth largest in the world, hopes the Hawks
will help cut the number of pilots killed in non-combat crashes. More
than 40 have died in 170 crashes over the past decade while flying
Russian-made MiGs.
Roy Isbister, project co-ordinator on arms export controls for the
pressure group Saferworld, said: "The aircraft is listed as a trainer
but it also has a ground-attack function and is extremely well
designed for the conditions in Kashmir."
The Institute for Public Policy Researchsaid the Hawk deal was a
"source of serious concern". It said: "By supporting this deal,
Britain will significantly strengthen India's offensive capability and
contribute to further military build-up, tension and instability in
the region".
Robert Parker, Amnesty International's arms and security trade
specialist, said the sale would violate the Government's export
criteria. He said a clause banned the issue of export licences for
UK-made arms that might have an adverse effect on regional stability
or be used aggressively against another country.
ram