Indian government has lifted restricted blacklisting on Israel Aerospace Industries and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, citing lack of evidence of supposed corruption.
India and Vietnam are expected to sign an agreement for a line of credit from the former worth $500 million that will go toward building capabilities through Vietnam’s defense industry.
Under a new categorization approach in India, defense companies caught using corrupt practices to influence contracts are now put under debarred, suspended and restricted-procurement categories.
While the military is happy about the procurement plan, there is a high degree of skepticism that the process will be as quick as the Indian military wants it to be.
Even as India’s new 2018-2019 defense budget rises, it seems rising manpower costs within the military will hinder some of the armed forces’ plans to acquire new weapons.
An Indian Air Force official says the S-400 would easily overpower Pakistan’s air defense capabilities and prove a match against China’s strategic assets.