US upset over losing fighter jet deal, envoy decides to go home
BS Reporter / New Delhi Apr 29, 2011, 00:02 IST
The US Ambassador to India, Timothy J Roemer, announced his resignation today, a day after the government decided not to shortlist two US companies for the $11-billion contract for 126 Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA). The government has shortlisted European companies Dassault and EADS.
That Roemer was a family man was clear in his first press conference at arriving in India. In New Delhi, Roemer introduced to the Delhi press corps not just his wife, Sally, but his father and mother too. His mother also had words of praise for her daughter-in-law.
Today, as he announced he was leaving India, Roemer gave family as the reason, saying his two sons would go to university in 14 months and he wanted to spend more time with his family. He said he had told President Barack Obama earlier that he would like just a two-year term in India.
However, informally, Indian bureaucrats said the US had not expected to be overlooked for the deal in the first stage itself.
The impression in India was that Roemer’s return was prompted as much by his desire to return to US politics as to distance himself from the loss of the MMRCA deal.
A deal for manufacturing the 126 aircraft would have meant a lot for Obama’s promise of creating more jobs in his recession-hit country. “His return is a reflection of what his boss wants from India — commercial deals and jobs back home as well as non-interference on AfPak and other issues,” said a bureaucrat.
Carnegie Endowment researcher Ashley Tellis’s monograph, ‘Dogfight’, which came out earlier this year, had made a persuasive case for the contract to be awarded to a US company in the interest of Indian and US strategic goals.
The US Embassy acknowledged it was upset that Boeing and Lockheed Martin had not been considered.
“We are reviewing the documents from the government of India and are respectful of the procurement process. We are, however, deeply disappointed by this news. I have been personally assured at the highest levels of the Indian government that the procurement process for this aircraft has been and will be transparent and fair. I am extremely confident that the Boeing F/A 18IN and the Lockheed-Martin F-16IN will provide the Indian Air Force an unbeatable platform with proven technologies at a competitive price,” said a statement.
India, on its part, tried to sweeten things. The Cabinet Committee on Security is ready to clear the purchase of the C-17 Globemaster transport aircraft at a cost of more than $4 billion. This will be through the foreign military sales route -- a government-to-government method of procuring defence equipment.
This type of behavior wasn't expected from an mature country like USA. Sending ambassador back just because you can't bag a deal, that too, because of your own restrictions on transfer of tech is... strange. Lets hope they can get their act together and start to view defense market with an more sober view. We respect USA but defense of our country isn't something you can expect us to compromise on.
USA HAS IT SELF TO BLAME FOR NOT COOPERATING WITH INDIAN DEMANDS WHICH WAS THE CENTRAL ISSUE IN NO SELECTION OF F-16IN OR F-18IN WARPLANES BY INDIA. IT IS IMPERATIVE FOR INDIA TO GO AHEAD & START MAKING EUROFIGHTER-TYPHOON AT THE SOONEST OR ELSE INDIA WILL REGRET DEEPLY WHEN CHINESE & PUKEES INVADE INDIA BY OCTOBER 2011.
Eurofighter and Dassualt Rafel are much better technically than that of F-16s and F-18s. The current eg. of their combat capability is in Libya where Rafel and F-16s are showing their powers. Also Rafel is much better. Now what US will do is they will increase the rate of C-17 Globmasters. India has definitely taken a great and proper decision. India also has to fast Anallise the situation with U.S. because now it will also play democratic cards as well as politics. Also India should pressurize US for quick handover of CJ-180s and C-17 at the original prise. It should consider the Raffel much because it is one country we deal with and also a much better friend than any other one.
I will leave the technical discussion of this to others.
The simple question is this. How does the US expect India to purchase US fighter aircraft while it "gifts" the F-16 and drones to pakistan and wants to monitor how their aircraft are used by India, which are intended to be used against India and not the "primitively" armed Taliban? This in itself is an insult to the intelligence of Indians. India should and seems to have looked after it's best interests (not the US's) in this contract. This is the best decision for India and should not be changed under any pressure from the US. The US does not care when the Indians are upset when it gifts pakistan with F-16's, drones(to be eventually cloned by china), and airborne early warning systems, so why is it being upset now, especially when it has inferior technology and terms to offer?
US jets would have been shortlisted in the MMRCA deal.But US govt has put spanner in the deal coming throu'.
Firstly India is apprhensive about lot of signatories which needs to adhere. An important deal of this nature where India needs to bind itself did not go down well with Airforce chief.
2,F-16 & F-18 super hornet is a older platform compared to the newly developed Rafale& Euro fighter
3, IAF comfort level is more with European tech than American tech.
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