Posted on 09/04/2007 5:14:36 AM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
Sweden offers joint development of jets, submarines to India
NEW DELHI: Keen to cast off the ghost of the Bofors kickbacks scam, Sweden has proposed new avenues of defence cooperation to India, including joint development of jet fighters and submarines.
"The Swedish government is proposing to invest in Gripen fighters and is keen that India too take a investment stake in jointly developing these new generation fighters," visiting Swedish Vice Minister for Defence H G Wessburg said.
Gripen is one of six jets vying for India's biggest ever global tender worth over Rs 42,000 crore (10 billion dollars) for the purchase of 126 fighter aircraft.
Gripen is made by Swedish major SAAB International, which recently made its first overseas sales of the jet to South Africa and some European nations.
"Stockholm's offer is not related to the Indian Air Force's request for proposals (RFP)," Wessburg said, affirming that Sweden wanted broad-based cooperation in defence research and development.
The US and NATO should be doing all they feasibly can do, within reason and national security constraints, to bring India further within the west's sphere of influence, both in the general WOT, and, IMHO, more particularly as a counter weight to the growing inlfuence of China and the Shanghai Cooperative.
I hope Kockums quality control has vastly improved. They did the hull welds (ASC did the other 5 boats) on the first COLLINS class sub so badly that the RAN nearly scrapped it. We’ve managed to fix it now but it took a lot of time and effort.
I would love to see India distance itself away from Russia in favor of Sweden.
One would hope that in the intervening 15 years that they had gotten their QA act together. The Swedes can make some very good military equipment, both aircraft and vessels.
I am sure that India is aware of the initial failings on the Collins fabrication and will, hopefully take it into account in their program management.
But after seeing some of the recent failings here in the US with the first LCS, the initial San Antonio, and the new National Security Cutter for the US Coast Guard...one wonders.
Actually,the rest of the Collins class boats had teething trouble too.The Dechaineux,which was a later boat almost sunk in 2003 after flooding at maximum dept.Other problems observed with the entire class were noise problems as well as trouble with the Combat management system which was replaced less than a decade after service.Can’t blame the Swedes for all that.The Collins class is a one of kind boat-specifically designed for Australian requirements.It’s considerably larger & has much greater endurance than other Swedish subs.
It will take atleast 25 years for India to completely distance itself from Russian support for it’s military.
Now THAT is a deft political move. Sweden must REALLY want the Indian multi-role fighter contract!
I wonder if the Sov, er, Russians can match it?
Not really a big deal considering that the Swedes need a bit of additional funding for their next generation sub project given that Norway & Denmark have wavered in recent years.
The Russians have already proposed a variant of their Amur submarine equipped with the Brahmos missile for the Indian navy’s second line of SSKs(first being the French Scorpene).
“I wonder if the Sov, er, Russians can match it?”
- Or the US..
When it comes to ‘Bang for the buck’, The Gripen is way ahead of anything the US has on offer.
If the Bofors are anything to go by, the Swedish stuff can pack a punch.
Don’t think so. I figure the Gripen is about as good as the Super Hornet, and waaaaay behind the F-35. Dunno ‘bout the relative costs.
‘Course, the Indians don’t need F-35s (and it will be a few years before they’re available). They need something that can beat the early model F-16s the Pakis fly and Chinese Sukhois, just in case.
If I were the Indians, though, I’d be lookin’ into UCAV technology instead of manned fighters. Get a jump on all the folks clinging to manned fighter technology.
“They need something that can beat the early model F-16s the Pakis fly and Chinese Sukhois, just in case.”
India also needs to beat the newer models of Paki F-16s plus the new generations of Chinese Sukhois and Jian-10s and Jian-12s that would be comming in larger numbers. Neither F-18s nor Gripens are capable of beating them. Both are short on range, and would barely be able to hold their own. However F-35s may have a big time edge over the combined strength of Paki and Chinese airforce.
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