Holysmoke Posted March 17, 2009 Posted March 17, 2009 WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama's administration has cleared a $2.1 billion sale to India of eight Boeing Co P-8I maritime patrol aircraft, the largest U.S. arms transfer to India to date. The State Department said in a March 12 notice to the U.S. Congress that it would license the direct commercial sale having factored in "political, military, economic, human rights and arms control considerations." The Indian navy was the first international customer for the P-8, a long-range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft. Boeing says it can operate effectively over land or water while performing anti-submarine warfare; search and rescue; maritime interdiction; and long-range intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance. India chose it over several rivals, including EADS Airbus A319, according to Flightglobal.com, an online aviation-trade publication. Boeing has said it would deliver the first P-8I within 48 months of a contract signing, and the remaining seven by 2015. Derived from Boeing's commercial 737 airframe, its is similar to the P-8A Poseidon that Boeing is developing for the U.S. Navy. In January 2008, Washington and New Delhi sealed India's previous largest U.S. arms purchase -- six Lockheed Martin Corp C-130J Super Hercules military transport planes valued at about $1 billion, including related gear, training and spares. Boeing's P-8I contract is with the Indian Ministry of Defense. The sale includes associated support equipment, spares, training and logistical support through June 2019, the State Department said in its notice. It said direct arms-trade "offsets" were expected to include engineering service, manufacturing and integrated logistics-support projects totaling $641.3 million. Lockheed and Boeing, respectively the Pentagon's No. 1 and No. 2 suppliers by sales, are among warplane makers vying to sell India 126 new multi-role fighters in a deal that could be worth more than $10 billion. Boeing is offering its F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet. Lockheed is pitching its F-16. They are competing with warplanes built in Russia, France, Sweden and by a European consortium. One stumbling block for Boeing and Lockheed has been Indian qualms about standard "end-user" pacts designed to prevent leakage of sensitive U.S. technology to third countries. Such agreements are a routine part of U.S. government-to-government arms sale. A similar form, known as DSP-83, had to be signed by Indian authorities for Boeing to have submitted its license request for the P-8I deal. (Reporting by Jim Wolf; editing by Bernard Orr) http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090316/pl_nm/us_india_usa_arms
Ram Posted March 17, 2009 Posted March 17, 2009 This is sure-shot sign that the general mistrust that prevailed between India and the U.S reg. arms sales in the past is finally dissipating. The U.S had always viewed India in the past as some quasi- USSR block, given the legacy of the Cold war. Even when the cold war was gone, India was always hesitant to buy arms from the U.S because of the frequent arms and technology transfer embargoes that the state department imposed on India, whenever we did some missile test or a nuclear test. So, even when we did buy some machinery from them, we were often left in limbo, when we could not get any spare parts or any technology transfer. So, we had to buy most of military equipment from Russia, which wasn’t the most productive thing to do. And more importantly, more American arms sales mean more American jobs preserved. In this environment, those guys would be willing to sell arms to people they would have normally shunned, for the sake of a few thousand American jobs.
gs Posted March 21, 2009 Posted March 21, 2009 Think its just pure economics at work here. India has the money, and US manufacturers need clients to buy their cr.p. Dont think it has to do anything more than this!
gs Posted March 22, 2009 Posted March 22, 2009 US is selling to India but donating to Pak That or selling the same sh.t to them as well. Who profits in this double game?!?!? Lockheed, Boeing, Northrop Grumman etc. Both India/Pak get shafted. How the eff does it matter if our planes have 8 rocket pods vs 6 on Pak planes??!!? Is that a decisive advantage?? Tech transfer is the key, not just buying off the shelf. So many of DRDO's projects like LCA, stealth frigates etc. have been delayed for so many years, some of which is due to US backtracking on its promises (and most of it due to DRDO's incompetence!)
THX_1138 Posted March 22, 2009 Posted March 22, 2009 That or selling the same sh.t to them as well. Who profits in this double game?!?!? Lockheed, Boeing, Northrop Grumman etc. Both India/Pak get shafted. How the eff does it matter if our planes have 8 rocket pods vs 6 on Pak planes??!!? Is that a decisive advantage?? Tech transfer is the key, not just buying off the shelf. So many of DRDO's projects like LCA, stealth frigates etc. have been delayed for so many years, some of which is due to US backtracking on its promises (and most of it due to DRDO's incompetence!) no one is going to transfer technology mate. all the more reason why we need to spend 1.2 billion dollars on universities and solar panels and wind mills.
THX_1138 Posted March 22, 2009 Posted March 22, 2009 That or selling the same sh.t to them as well. Who profits in this double game?!?!? Lockheed, Boeing, Northrop Grumman etc. Both India/Pak get shafted. How the eff does it matter if our planes have 8 rocket pods vs 6 on Pak planes??!!? Is that a decisive advantage?? Tech transfer is the key, not just buying off the shelf. So many of DRDO's projects like LCA, stealth frigates etc. have been delayed for so many years, some of which is due to US backtracking on its promises (and most of it due to DRDO's incompetence!) really... you want to go work for DRDO at 7.5K a month mate?
gs Posted March 23, 2009 Posted March 23, 2009 no one is going to transfer technology mate. all the more reason why we need to spend 1.2 billion dollars on universities and solar panels and wind mills. Absolutely, that's what I was trying to get at. Investment in education and research!!
gs Posted March 23, 2009 Posted March 23, 2009 really... you want to go work for DRDO at 7.5K a month mate? Once again, that's the point I am trying to convey. This situation is due to the retarded and shortsighted policies of Indian govt. If they invest a fraction of this money in DRDO to provide better facilities/compensation to the employees, they can attract top talent and deliver results!
THX_1138 Posted March 23, 2009 Posted March 23, 2009 Once again' date=' that's the point I am trying to convey. This situation is due to the retarded and shortsighted policies of Indian govt. If they invest a fraction of this money in DRDO to provide better facilities/compensation to the employees, they can attract top talent and deliver results![/quote'] dude there is no budget!!! that is why the pay scales stink! I did a 2 year research project with DARPA during my undergraduate and working part time, i made more money than a person working full time with DRDO makes. that speaks in itself. either we renounce war all together and work towards a dismantling of our military infrastructure... maintaining an army that is half the size of the current number (more than one half of our entire defense budget is devoted to paying salaries), and instead invest in the air force. a good missile program is something we should invest in, not because we need missiles, but because it often leads to a decent space program. but then again there are a million other places where we could conduct research... from packaged meals for the soldiers to trauma medicines and equipment...
THX_1138 Posted March 23, 2009 Posted March 23, 2009 Tum sab log bahut hi zyada pade likhe ho !!! nahi, aasi koi baat nah hai. bas sara time hum log maar pitai ki baat nahi sochte...
punjabi_khota Posted March 23, 2009 Posted March 23, 2009 dude there is no budget!!! that is why the pay scales stink! I did a 2 year research project with DARPA during my undergraduate and working part time, i made more money than a person working full time with DRDO makes. that speaks in itself. either we renounce war all together and work towards a dismantling of our military infrastructure... maintaining an army that is half the size of the current number (more than one half of our entire defense budget is devoted to paying salaries), and instead invest in the air force. a good missile program is something we should invest in, not because we need missiles, but because it often leads to a decent space program. but then again there are a million other places where we could conduct research... from packaged meals for the soldiers to trauma medicines and equipment... The pay scales of all officers in govt. are linked, so the research labs cannot independently raise the pay of scientists working there. The 6th pay commission will result in a grade 'C' scientist being paid about 50K per month plus a lot of perks. Not great, but not that bad either.
suraj Posted March 24, 2009 Posted March 24, 2009 nahi' date=' aasi koi baat nah hai. bas sara time hum log maar pitai ki baat nahi sochte...[/quote'] maar pitai buri baat hai kayarta usse bhi buri Gandhi never asked for non-violence when it comes to self defense
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