LAST APRIL, during his visit to France, Air Chief Marshal R.K.S. Bhadauria, the then Air Force chief, pitched an idea-he wanted to rent an Airbus A330 multi-role tanker transport aircraft (MRTT) instead of buying one.
In 2020, a batch of the Air Force's Rafales had flown non-stop (almost 7,000 km) from France to India with mid-air refuelling; the A330 MRTTS of the French and UAE air forces had helped do that.
The Air Force had made multiple unsuccessful attempts since 2007 to buy mid-air refuelling jets, but budget was always a hurdle. So, now, the Air Force is leasing an A330 MRTT from France.
The IAF might go in for five more A330 MRTTs later. Currently, the force operates six Russian Ilyushin-I178 refuelling tankers, but these are facing service issues. Mid-air refuellers also help overcome the depleted combat strength, to some extent, as they allow the existing fleet to remain in the sky for longer.
Meanwhile, the Army, in 2021, finalised the lease of four advanced Heron Mark-II medium-altitude long endurance UAVs from Israel for better surveillance on the IndiaChina border amid the military standoff in Ladakh.
In 2020, the Narendra Modi government came out with new regulations that allow leasing of military equipment from friendly nations to plug critical operational deficiencies amid growing threats on the borders. Defence experts believe that operational preparedness and indigenisation do not go hand in hand. And so, India needs answers in the short term.
There are two types of lease-dry and wet. The former allows use in wartime; the latter, in peacetime.
India's new set of regulations allows for dry lease and, according to the new rules, provides a useful way to substitute huge initial capital outlays with periodical rental payments.
Leasing would include the cost of maintenance during the lease period. In case of a crash, the entire cost would have to be paid to the foreign firm.
Denne historien er fra June 26, 2022-utgaven av THE WEEK India.
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Denne historien er fra June 26, 2022-utgaven av THE WEEK India.
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William Dalrymple goes further back
Indian readers have long known William Dalrymple as the chronicler nonpareil of India in the early years of the British raj. His latest book, The Golden Road, is a striking departure, since it takes him to a period from about the third century BC to the 12th-13th centuries CE.
The bleat from the street
What with all the apps delivering straight to one’s doorstep, the supermarkets, the food halls and even the occasional (super-expensive) pop-up thela (cart) offering the woke from field-to-fork option, the good old veggie-market/mandi has fallen off my regular beat.
Courage and conviction
Justice A.M. Ahmadi's biography by his granddaughter brings out behind-the-scenes tension in the Supreme Court as it dealt with the Babri Masjid demolition case
EPIC ENTERPRISE
Gowri Ramnarayan's translation of Ponniyin Selvan brings a fresh perspective to her grandfather's magnum opus
Upgrade your jeans
If you don’t live in the top four-five northern states of India, winter means little else than a pair of jeans. I live in Mumbai, where only mad people wear jeans throughout the year. High temperatures and extreme levels of humidity ensure we go to work in mulmul salwars, cotton pants, or, if you are lucky like me, wear shorts every day.
Garden by the sea
When Kozhikode beach became a fertile ground for ideas with Manorama Hortus
RECRUITERS SPEAK
Industry requirements and selection criteria of management graduates
MORAL COMPASS
The need to infuse ethics into India's MBA landscape
B-SCHOOLS SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT INDIAN ECONOMY IS GOING TO WITNESS A TREMENDOUS GROWTH
INTERVIEW - Prof DEBASHIS CHATTERJEE, director, Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode
COURSE CORRECTION
India's best b-schools are navigating tumultuous times. Hurdles include lower salaries offered to their graduates and students misusing AI
