India's artillery upgrade remains in limbo

SOURCE-JANES.COM

The Indian Army's long-overdue plans to upgrade around 390 Bofors FH-77B 155 mm 39-calibre howitzers to 155 mm 45-calibre, stand jeopardised due primarily to the 'over-ambitious' qualitative requirements (QRs) drawn up by the artillery directorate for the retrofit.

The army first acquired the howitzers in 1987 and currently has a total of 410 in its inventory. The upgrade is intended to enhance the range of the guns, and includes replacing the gun barrel, breech block, strengthening the undercarriage and fitting the howitzers with a state-of-the-art sighting system, allowing them to fire heavier ordnance.

"Some of the upgrade QRs are unrealistic for these 25-year-old guns, demanding even more capability than newer howitzers," said an armament industry source associated with the project.

The army, he declared, was unwilling to revise or modify the request for proposals (RfP), even though many in the artillery directorate conceded that the QRs were unrealistic because only the defence minister had the authority to effect a change in the tender and they were circumspect about approaching him.

An earlier, similar RfP issued by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in 2006 lapsed unfulfilled. It required competing vendors such as BAE Systems (which now owns Bofors AB), the FH 77B's original equipment manufacturer (OEM), private defence contractor Tata of Mumbai and the state-owned Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) to develop an upgraded prototype howitzer within a year

1,000 US Marine to be deployed at American Embassy in Islamabad

US Marines numbering 1,000 will be deployed at American Embassy in Islamabad under massive expansion work which is nearing completion.Pakistan’s Foreign Office Spokesman Abdul Basit Khan has said that 1,000 US Marines will be coming to Pakistan to be deployed at US Mission.He said that there was no restriction on the number of personnel that a foreign mission could station at its mission but it is done through mutual understanding.
The FO Spokesman stated on Wednesday while replying to a query relating to increase in the strength of the US personnel at Islamabad’s mission, The Nation reported.
A former Pakistan diplomat had objected to the US plans to have a bigger presence in Pakistan in the pursuit of its strategic interests in the region.
Former Foreign Secretary Shamshad Ahmed Khan said that it is evident that America wants to remote control the region from Islamabad. According to an estimate, Washington is planning to spend a whopping one billion dollars for revamping its main embassy building in Islamabad and increase the strength of its staff.
The Obama Administration is about to spend 405 million dollars for the reconstruction and refurbishment of the main embassy building and 111 million dollars for constructing a new complex for 330 personnel. A further 197 million dollars would be spent for construction of a housing unit for about 250 personnel.

Not only this, the United States is also planning to give its consular buildings in Lahore and Peshawar a new look.Experts believe that this is a clear cut strategy of the US to augment its presence and establish control over the region