BloombergGlobal companies from Lockheed Martin to Sweden’s Saab AB are offering military hardware from submarines to helicopters to PM Narendra Modi ’s government as part of his $250 billion defense modernization program. But bureaucratic delays and a funding crunch has made future deals next to impossible.Airbus SE won a $1.7 billion contract to supply transport planes to the Indian Air Force (IAF) in 2015 -- it’s first military agreement in the South Asian nation since 1962. That leaves little to meet demands for weapons purchases and modernization.The political leadership is well aware of the need for modern weapons. What started as a requirement for 125 jets was pruned by two-thirds. These are small ticket items only, the company executives said, not submarines, jets or helicopters.

Source: Economic Times February 13, 2020 04:53 UTC