Murky Competition for $2B India Howitzer Order May End Soon… Or Not
Related Stories: Africa, Asia - India, Asia - Other, BAE, Guns - Artillery & Mortars, Lobbying, Middle East - Israel, Other Corporation, Project Methodologies, Rumours, Scandals & Investigations
India’s $2 billion purchase of about 400 new 155mm self-propelled howitzers is intended to supplement India’s dwindling artillery stocks, while out-ranging and out-shooting Pakistan’s self-propelled M109 155mm guns.
It seems simple enough, and BAE Systems Bofors had been competing against systems from Israel’s Soltam and Denel of South Africa.
Unfortunately, the competition has mostly served as a cautionary tale, a years-long affair filled with legal drama, accusations of corruption, and more than one re-start. Meanwhile, India’s stock of operational 155mm howitzers has dwindled to around 200. In 2007, a new RFP was issued, and the competition was expanded. Is there an end in sight? Or a potential winner?
There are rumors that a winner in the light 155/39 caliber howitzer competition is about to be announced – and it isn’t the contender that many expected…
- Competition Background
- Contracts and Key Events [updated]
- Additional Readings
Competition Background
(click to view full)
US-India Defense and Strategic Affairs reported on the competition in 2004, and noted that this was expected to be one of the first large defense procurement decisions made by India’s new United Progressive Alliance government. The question now is whether a decision can be made within that government’s term(s) of office.
After multiple firing trials and several years, India’s competition managed to end up without any competitors left standing. All 3 competitors (Bofors FH-77B05, Soltam TIG 2002, Denel G5/2000) failed to meet India’s accuracy specifications in 2003 trials, but all three improved their guns to compete again in 2004. There are reports that Soltam fell out of the race after its barrel burst during field trials, while South Africa’s Denel sidelined in 2004 and then eliminated in 2005, after the Indian government accused the manufacturer of corruption in another defence deal.
That created problems on 2 fronts. Denel’s financial situation was deteriorating, and The Times of India reported that the contract may have been critical to the firm’s financial survival. In hindsight, that concern was valid, but Denel managed to survive the loss. A win certainly would have made a significant difference, and might have allowed Denel to delay its major corporate restructuring and associated strategic rethinking for several years.
Winner by default?
(click to view full)
The other problem involved India’s Ministry of Defence. DID has noted the extreme risk-averse behavior of India’s defense procurement establishment and its effects on contract awards, however, and Defense India notes that when a competition devolves to a single-vendor solution, the practice is often to re-tender.
The resulting dithering was relieved when allegations that Bofors had paid INR 640 million (about $16 million) in bribes to secure the order eliminated the last contender. Bofors Defence AB had been blacklisted by India before, after allegations of kickbacks in a 1987 deal during Rajiv Gandhi’s regime. That scandal had derailed a planned 1,500 gun buy, reducing it to 410 FH-77B howitzers.
Those accused in the Bofors case would eventually have their day in court, however, and win. In April 2007, India re-opened its howitzer competition again, and the passage of time had created a number of changes in the requirements and options.
Meanwhile, the support contract with Bofors for India’s in-service howitzers expired in 2001, and India’s stock is believed to sit at just 200 operational 155/39 caliber guns as of January 2009.
Contracts and Key Events
Oct 7/09: Indian Express reports that:
“The government may have decided to let Ottavio Quattrocchi off the hook, but the Bofors ghost continues to haunt the armed forces, with several key artillery modernisation programmes put in the limbo due to wrongdoing charges levelled against three major international manufacturers.”
March 12/09: The Singapore Straits Times reports that India has picked ST Kinetics’ “Pegasus” semi-mobile light howitzer for its $1 billion, 145-gun ultralight howitzer competition. At 5,000 kg/ 11,000 pounds, the 155mm/39 caliber Pegasus SLWH is not quite as light as BAE Systems’ M777. What it does have, is an unusual feature that allows the towed gun to be moved limited distances, at up to 12 km/h, under its own power. This is a very useful feature when trying to sidestep return fire cued by artillery tracking radars.
Unlike the 155/52 caliber competition for larger and heavier howitzers, the “ultralight” competition reportedly contains no clauses requiring manufacture in India.
Singapore was also sent an RFP for the 155/52 caliber competition, which the Straits-Times reports could involve up to 400 foreign-made and 1,180 domestically-produced howitzers. ST Kinetics’s other products include the 155/52 FH2000 towed field howitzer, and the Primus 155/39 caliber 28.5-ton tracked self-propelled howitzer. Singapore Straits-Times.
Jan 14/09: An anonymous Army official tells Indian reporters that:
“The procurement process for the towed and light howitzer is proceeding as planned. Bids have been received from all the vendors and trials of the guns are planned in February or March [of 2009].... The trials for self-propelled howitzers are planned in May-June [2009].”
According to the IANS report, the initial contract involves 180 guns, but the eventual contract is to include up to 400 guns, thanks to transfer of technology to build the howitzers in India. Of these, 140 will be light howitzers that will be spread over 7 regiments. They will still be 155/52 caliber, just lighter thanks to advances in metallurgy and design. The remaining 260 guns will be towed and self-propelled variants. IANS via India Defence | Hindustan Times.
(click to view full)
April 4/07: Re-tender is exactly what happened. Sujan Dutta of The Calcutta Telegraph reports that India has reopened its artillery competitions entirely, refloating 2 global RFPs to 12 makers of 155mm/52 calibre self-propelled guns. The Indian Army reportedly proposes to buy 400 systems at the outset: 180 tracked and 220 wheeled.
The first new tender was for wheeled guns, with an RFP floated in early March 2007. The second tender for tracked guns was floated at the end of the month. Expected competitors include BAE Land Systems USA (M109A6 Paladin possible for tracked), BAE Bofors (FH77B towed, Archer wheeled), France’s Nexter (Caesar wheeled), Rheinmetall (Zuzana wheeled from Kerametal in Slovakia, possibly PzH-2000 for tracked), Korea’s Samsung Techwin (K9 for tracked), and Israel’s Soltam (Atmos 2000 for wheeled, Rascal for tracked).
In making its decision to re-float the RFP, the cabinet committee on security reportedly concluded that:
- A single-vendor situation must be avoided;
- South Africa’s Denel had emerged as the single vendor for the tracked version, but they were blacklisted in 2005 on another deal;
- The process delays of 5 years since the first tender have been so great that the field as a whole has advanced since then;
- The standards for the selection of the guns need to be revised; and
- India’s defence procurement policy has been revised in the interim, and the RFP should reflect that.
Jan 16/06: A new scandal is swirling around re-opened allegations of kick-backs involving Bofors, and complicity by the current government in covering them up.
Jan 13/06: The Press Trust of India (PTI) reports that Army Chief General J J Singh has ordered a 4th round of extensive trials for the guns, in which only the Bofors and Soltam guns will be taking part. He said the two contending 155mm/52 caliber guns would be evaluated through summer and winter trials, with the winner inducted by 2007.
DID thought that was a bit optimistic...
Jan 12/06: The Times of India reports that India’s UPA government has floated new global tenders for collaboration in the Nalanda ordnance factory project to manufacture 155mm Bi-Modular Charge Systems (BMCS) for India’s artillery. See this link from BAE’s SWS Defence for a more in-depth look at a particular BMCS solution.
South Africa’s Denel had been picked, but the blacklisting stemming from the anti-material rifles’ deal is having further ripple effects. The winner of this competition will be well positioned for any follow-on orders involving India’s new howitzers.
July 28/05: South African competitor Denel is blacklisted from Indian defense contracts by the Ministry of Defence, as a result of the CBI’s bribery investigation.
June 15/04: Madison Government Affairs, summarizing Defense News:
“The Indian Army will choose among three foreign contenders for a $2 billion purchase of about 400 155mm self-propelled howitzers after field trials in the Rajasthan desert later this month, an Indian Defence Ministry official said. The candidates are the Swedish SWS Defense AB FH77B05 L52, the Israeli Soltam TIG 2002 and the South African Denel G5/2000 gun. All three failed to meet India’s accuracy specifications in last year’s trials; all three improved their guns to compete again this year, said an Indian Army official from the artillery directorate”
Additional Readings
- Bharat Rakshak – 155mm BOFORS FH-77B
- BAE’s SWS Defence – 155 mm FH 77B05 L52
- DID – Sweden, Norway to Cooperate on Archer Artillery Project. Uses the FH-77.
- DID – M777: He Ain’t Heavy, He’s my Howitzer. An alternative from BAE Systems for the towed segment.
- Denel Land Systems – G6-52 SP Gun Howitzer and T5-52 Truck-Mounted gun Howitzer.
- DID (Oct 30/05) – Singapore Unveils New Air-Portable, Semi-Mobile 155mm Pegasus Howitzer
- Army Technology – Caesar 155mm Self-Propelled Artillery System, France (Nexter)
- GlobalSecurity – K9 155mm self-propelled howitzer (Samsung Techwin)
- Soltam Systems – Athos. Towed 155mm howitzer.
- Global Security – 155mm ShKH Zuzana (ZTS)
