Air Force, Defence Ministry Clash Over Boeing HARPOON Missile
Dated 26/3/2007
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India's Air Force and Defence Ministry are clashing over procurement of air-launched anti-ship missiles. Ministry officials complain that only one bidder has been shortlisted, while Air Force leaders claim they are being pressured to accept lesser capabilities.
Boeing's Harpoon was the only missile among those offered by five competitors that service officials said met their requirements to replace the Sea Eagle anti-ship missiles that arm the Jaguar aircraft fleet.
Because of the single-vendor situation, an Indian Air Force official said, the Defence Ministry has pressured the service to modify its technical requirements and refloat the tender.
The Air Force in October floated a limited global tender to France's MBDA, Israel's Rafael, Russia's Rosoboronexport, and U.S. firms Boeing and Raytheon, seeking to procure unspecified numbers of anti-ship missiles for $100 million.
One of the main technical requirements is that the new missile have a minimum range of 100 kilometers, Air Force officials said. Only the Harpoon met that requirement.
The Defence Ministry recently directed the Air Force to reduce the required range of the anti-ship missile, the service official said
