Strategic partnership in defence can't be rushed beyond a point

The process designated to select an SP is long and arduous

Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra said at the DefExpo on Thursday that the Strategic Partner (SP) policy was still at a preliminary stage and expecting orders even by next year would be a “little premature”. By all available indications, the orders will take even longer because there are fundamental flaws in the SP policy, in which the defence ministry plans to select Indian private sector firms to manufacture complex weapons platforms, including fighters, helicopters, submarines and tanks, in India. The SP will fabricate the platform based on technology transferred by a global “original equipment manufacturer” (OEM), which will be chosen in