NEW DELHI: The CAG has punched several holes in the operational capabilities of IAF as well as Army Aviation Corps, ranging from poor serviceability of the country's most modern fighters Sukhoi-30MKIs and "eyes in the sky" AWACS to the virtually obsolete Cheetah/Chetak helicopter fleets.
The audit watchdog's stinging indictment should serve as a much-needed wake-up call for the politico-bureaucratic combine as well as armed forces to undertake long-term strategic planning to build military capabilities in a systematic and cost-effective manner, with timely decision-making and proper follow-through.
First, take the case of the only three AWACS (airborne warning and control systems) in the shape of Israeli Phalcon radars mounted on Russian IL-76 aircraft, which were inducted as potent force-multipliers in 2009-2011 under a $1.1 billion deal inked in 2004.
19/12/15 Rajat Pandit/The Times Of India
The audit watchdog's stinging indictment should serve as a much-needed wake-up call for the politico-bureaucratic combine as well as armed forces to undertake long-term strategic planning to build military capabilities in a systematic and cost-effective manner, with timely decision-making and proper follow-through.
First, take the case of the only three AWACS (airborne warning and control systems) in the shape of Israeli Phalcon radars mounted on Russian IL-76 aircraft, which were inducted as potent force-multipliers in 2009-2011 under a $1.1 billion deal inked in 2004.
19/12/15 Rajat Pandit/The Times Of India