Army denies its chief objected to arms deal with US
May 25th, 2010 - 11:25 pm ICT by IANSNew Delhi, May 25 (IANS) The Indian Army Tuesday denied its chief General V.K. Singh had warned Defence Minister A.K. Antony on government-to-government arms deals with the US.
The denial comes as a section of media reported that the army chief had red-flagged defence purchases from the US through the government-to-government route, calling attention to its serious pitfalls.
A defence ministry officer said the news report was based on “hearsay”.
“The article mentions a letter written by the Chief of Army Staff to the Hon’ble Raksha Mantri (Defence Minister) A.K. Antony on Foreign Military Sales (FMS). The news item is based on hearsay,” Additional Director General, Public Information, Major General Sanjeev Madhok said in a press statement.
The news report said that General Singh’s letter to Antony, cautioning him about problems that he countered with the FMS, comes at a time when the two sides are in the final stages of finalising two major purchases - one for the army and the other for the Indian Air Force (IAF).
The army proposes to buy 145 ultra-light howitzers worth about $647 million, mostly for deployment along the China border, while the IAF is planning to buy 10 C-17 transport aircraft at a cost of over $2.2 billion.
- Army denies cautioning Antony on deals with the US - May 25, 2010
- India clears $660 mn deal for artillery guns - May 11, 2012
- Nobody can manipulate defence deals: Antony (Lead) - Feb 15, 2011
- India clears $660 mn deal for artillery guns (Lead) - May 11, 2012
- Antony advises caution on WikiLeaks - Mar 18, 2011
- Army probing leak of howitzer trial report - Feb 14, 2011
- Army probing howitzer report leak at highest level: Antony - Feb 15, 2011
- India-US relations not aimed at China: Antony - Feb 17, 2012
- 17 percent hike in India's defence spending (Lead) - Mar 16, 2012
- Pranab dismisses talk of rift between army chief and government - Mar 31, 2012
- India hikes defence spending by 13 percent (Second Lead) - Mar 16, 2012
- India clears biggest deal with US for C-17s at $4.1 bn (Second Lead) - Jun 06, 2011
- India will pay 3.8 percent on all FMS deals with US - Sep 02, 2010
- India may buy howitzers from US - Jan 03, 2010
- India 'well prepared' in case of war: Antony - Apr 10, 2012
Tags: antony, army chief, army staff, chief general, chief of army, defence minister, defence ministry, denial, foreign military sales, hearsay, indian air force, indian army, New Delhi, news item, news report, pitfalls, public information, report said that, sanjeev, transport aircraft