While generals trade charges, the army prepares to phase the howitzers from service

George Iype in New Delhi

While a fresh round of accusations swirls around the multi-million dollar Bofors bribery scandal, the 410 field howitzers that the Rajiv Gandhi government purchased from A B Bofors of Sweden have been laying unutilised with the army for the last ten years.

Riddled with operational deficiencies and lack of spare parts and ammunition, the 155mm towed howitzers that India bought at US $ 1.3 billion are on the verge of being phased out from the army's artillery units.

"The Bofors guns are in a critical state without enough spares and ammunition as the kickbacks scandal has blocked vital replacements from Bofors for these automated gun systems," a senior army officer told Rediff On The NeT.

The army's Directorate of Weapons and Equipment, he disclosed, is all for phasing out the guns within a time frame. "The army cannot on depend on these highly-sophisticated howitzers which are non-operational now-a-days," he added.

DWE sources said though shortage of original spares is one of the main handicaps of the howitzers, "the quality and superiority" of the guns were also found to be "below average" when the first batch of Bofors weapons arrived in India in 1986.

For instance, the guns's barrels had to be replaced very often as they were found to be prone to heavy wear-and-tear in inhospitable terrain like the Siachen Glacier. Moreover, even in 1986, the DWE's evaluation report on the Bofors guns said 'the howitzer is prone to defects as it is a highly automated gun system.'

According to the Bofors contract, the Swedish armament company was to supply 410 field howitzers, spare parts, ammunition of six types, fire control equipments and technical literature. There was also a licenced production contract for almost double that amount stretching over a decade at the end of which India would be able to manufacture these guns at home.

As per the contract, the Indian defence ministry could place orders with the Swedish firm for spares and ammunition whenever the demand arose.

But the bribery scandal blocked not only the spare replacements and ammunition coming from Bofors, but it virtually annihilated the second part of the contract for the guns's licenced production by India.

Faced with these technical difficulties, the army in 1988 tried to marry an indigenously-built barrel with the howitzer's chassis. But the attempt failed as it was found that no reverse engineering could be done on the guns without semi or completely knocked down kits from Bofors.

And the stock of ammunition that India got along with the Bofors guns lasted for barely two years. By the time the army was planning to order more ammunition from Bofors in 1988, the bribery scandal engulfed the then Congress government which resulted in the Swedish firm being blacklisted.

Handicapped by these unforeseen problems, the army was forced to use a mixture of imported and indigenous ammunition for these guns. "But we have found that the reliability and response of Indian-made ammunition for the Bofors guns are far from satisfactory," a DWE official told Rediff On The NeT.

Army experts still believe the guns could be made into a truly new generation weapon system with burst-fire and high angle-fire capabilities, if the government lifts the ban on Bofors and takes delivery of spare parts and ammunition.

Two years ago, army headquarters recommended that the 400-odd Bofors guns could be put into proper working condition if the government reopened negotiations with the Swedish firm for making use of the credit for spares and ammunition.

As per the original contract, nearly 8.4 million kroners of the gun deal was meant for the purchase of spare parts and ammunition. The army's generals and defence ministry officials are in favour of immediately utilising this credit lying unused with the Swedish arms manufacturer.

But faced with political heat over the Bofors issue, it is unlikely that the United Front coalition government will muster enough courage to reopen negotiations with the controversial Swedish firm.