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NEW DELHI: Almost three decades after Indian Air Force (IAF) first mooted the urgent need for advanced jet trainers (AJTs), and six years after the initial contract for 66 British Hawk AJTs was inked, a major chunk of rookie fighter pilots are still forced to train on ageing, unsuitable and highly demanding MiG-21s.
Defence minister A K Antony admits the huge delay in the delivery of Hawks, with only 34 of the initial 66 Hawks inducted till date, has adversely impacted training of pilots.
In a written reply to Parliament on Monday, Antony said IAF pilots are still being trained on MiG-21s since the "original training plan" on Hawks for 2010-11 has been "modified".
The delay in Hawk deliveries by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) is "due to receipt of defective components, jigs and fixtures from the foreign manufacturer (BAE Systems), on whom liquidated damages were levied", he said.
Senior IAF officers, in turn, said plans to "progressively disband" old MiG-21 training establishments in places like Tezpur, Bhuj, Jamnagar and Nalia have been put "on hold" since training programmes have gone haywire.
This once again underlines India's tortuous defence procurement policies as well as faulty contracts and their tardy execution even after the deals are eventually finalised. It is no wonder that defence deals are often dogged by allegations of kickbacks in India.
The first contract for 66 Hawks 24 in 'flyaway condition' from BAE Systems, and the other 42 to be manufactured by HAL under transfer of technology was finalised in March 2004 in the Rs 8,000-crore project.
Meant to teach the intricacies of combat fighter jet flying, all the 66 Hawks were to be inducted by 2010-11. However, while the first 24 Hawks came by December 2009, only 10 HAL-manufactured AJTs have been inducted at Bidar airbase.
Moreover, India inked fresh contracts for another 57 Hawks during British PM David Cameron's visit in July.
Rookie pilots still train on aging MiG-21s - The Times of India
Defence minister A K Antony admits the huge delay in the delivery of Hawks, with only 34 of the initial 66 Hawks inducted till date, has adversely impacted training of pilots.
In a written reply to Parliament on Monday, Antony said IAF pilots are still being trained on MiG-21s since the "original training plan" on Hawks for 2010-11 has been "modified".
The delay in Hawk deliveries by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) is "due to receipt of defective components, jigs and fixtures from the foreign manufacturer (BAE Systems), on whom liquidated damages were levied", he said.
Senior IAF officers, in turn, said plans to "progressively disband" old MiG-21 training establishments in places like Tezpur, Bhuj, Jamnagar and Nalia have been put "on hold" since training programmes have gone haywire.
This once again underlines India's tortuous defence procurement policies as well as faulty contracts and their tardy execution even after the deals are eventually finalised. It is no wonder that defence deals are often dogged by allegations of kickbacks in India.
The first contract for 66 Hawks 24 in 'flyaway condition' from BAE Systems, and the other 42 to be manufactured by HAL under transfer of technology was finalised in March 2004 in the Rs 8,000-crore project.
Meant to teach the intricacies of combat fighter jet flying, all the 66 Hawks were to be inducted by 2010-11. However, while the first 24 Hawks came by December 2009, only 10 HAL-manufactured AJTs have been inducted at Bidar airbase.
Moreover, India inked fresh contracts for another 57 Hawks during British PM David Cameron's visit in July.
Rookie pilots still train on aging MiG-21s - The Times of India
