News June 13, 2009

Graft probe to delay artillery purchase

The army chief, General Deepak Kapoor has indicated that the long-pending artillery guns procurement may be further delayed due to the ongoing investigations into the corruption scandal involving former Ordinance Factory Board Director General Sudipta Ghosh.

T he army chief, General Deepak Kapoor has indicated that the long-pending artillery guns procurement may be further delayed due to the ongoing investigations into the corruption scandal involving former Ordinance Factory Board Director General Sudipta Ghosh.

“Till the time CBI is able to carry out detailed investigations, there will be a delay. To that extent, it will affect the acquisition of ultralight howitzers,” said General Kapoor.

Singapore Technologies was in the running for US $ 650 million 155 mm ultra-lightweight towed artillery gun gun purchase with their Pegasus, to be supplied to the Indian Army, for which field trials were said to be underway. A subsidiary of Singapore Technologies, Singapore Technologies Kinetics was bidding to provide 145 units to the army. The Pegasus is claimed to be the first self-propelled, helicopter-portable weapon of its kind and capable of firing three rounds in 24 seconds.

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About Saurabh Joshi

View all posts by Saurabh Joshi
Follow Saurabh Joshi on Twitter @ http://www.twitter.com/saurabhjoshi Saurabh is a journalist based in New Delhi, India who has worked in print, television as well as internet news media. Besides defense and strategy, his past assignments have included reporting from Kashmir, coverage of terror strikes as well as election coverage from all over India. He has a Bachelors degree in Journalism (Honors) as well as a law degree (LLB), both from the University of Delhi.
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