India largest arms purchaser in the World!

here are the figures for the total arms purchases by the top 3 nations last year.

India - U.S.$ 5.7 Billion
Saudi Arabia - U.S.$ 2.9 Billion
China - U.S.$ 2.2 Billion

here is a link to the complete article

www.smh.com.au...

i think this only shows the need for countries like india and china to develop indigenous technologies. it is more expensive in the short run but the long term benefits cannot be ignored.

comments are invited

Not everone can build the weapons, some need to just buy.

Originally posted by SpittinCobra
Not everone can build the weapons, some need to just buy.

ahhhh but then, in the case of india and china, i think building of weapons is much more than a possibility. growing economies. large pool of young, talented and well trained engineers. a growing sense of pride in self and country.

are these not the correct ingredients for these countries to embark on the tough path of self-sufficiency

hmm... Though china produces more indigenously than India..
Also India has a wide variey of choices to choose from..
Not many nations have the option of choosing from both russian and/or western technology..
Nevertheless, India should concentrate on more indigenous production or go into joint production with the russians and/or other western countries..

Originally posted by Daedalus3
hmm... Though china produces more indigenously than India..
Also India has a wide variey of choices to choose from..
Not many nations have the option of choosing from both russian and/or western technology..
Nevertheless, India should concentrate on more indigenous production or go into joint production with the russians and/or other western countries..

couldnt agree with u more

i think this only shows the need for countries like india and china to develop indigenous technologies. it is more expensive in the short run but the long term benefits cannot be ignored.

comments are invited

they are contracts signed. that means very little. it can strech from when the deal was signed(2004) to when it ends(2012) or even later.

Imported goods make up a small portion of chinas arms. maximum 10-20 percent of the total in chinas forces.

and the increased in indias arms is because of the aircraft carrier she singed the contract for.

You see that from 2001-2004 china brought a lot of arms. these arms are used as stepping stones for indegenious development. then slowly decrease your dependence until your own arms development is up to the standard where you want it to be.

Originally posted by chinawhite
they are contracts signed. that means very little. it can strech from when the deal was signed(2004) to when it ends(2012) or even later.

Imported goods make up a small portion of chinas arms. maximum 10-20 percent of the total in chinas forces.

and the increased in indias arms is because of the aircraft carrier she singed the contract for.

You see that from 2001-2004 china brought a lot of arms. these arms are used as stepping stones for indegenious development. then slowly decrease your dependence until your own arms development is up to the standard where you want it to be.

true. not arguing with tht. the top 3 buyers for the 4 year period from 2001 to 2004 ar as follows

1. China - U.S.$ 10.4 Billion
2. India - U.S.$ 7.9 Billion
3. Egypt - U.S.$ 6.5 Billion

btw jus a note. India is still the biggest purchaser of arms in 2004 even after taking out the Vikramaditya deal worth U.S.$ 1.6 Billion

the reason i mention the figures is because the billions of dollars spent on foreign puchases would be much more value for money if spent on own R&D. a dollar goes much further within these countries.

besides i feel the dependence of both the countries on outside suppliers is on the higher side. there is movement on the indigenisation front but not enough.

alternatively, more joint development activities activities should be undertaken, not only with partners like russia but also between india and china. i know it may seem implausible but then both countries have a lot to gain from stickin together

indian??? they are going to be the largest loser soon as what they are used to be

indian??? they are going to be the largest loser soon as what they are used to be

Forgive my lack of understanding, but care to explain to us what you mean by that statement?

ahem....yes.. Even I would like some clarification on that..

When were the "large losers" before??
What is a "large loser"..?
Sounds like some fat kid insult from school..

For the past decade, China was the largest arms importer.

It is only this year that India has become the largest arms importer.
Here are some major purchases this season :

> 6 Phalcon AWACS aircrafts (latest E-3 equivalent) from Israel
> Admiral Gorkshov aircraft carrier form Russia, with a full refit incorporating the latest sensors, SAM's, etc
> 16 Mig-29K aircrafts for the new carrier with the latest NO11M Bars radar (as on the MKI)
> a lot was spent on the R&D and purchase of the BrahMos cruise missile that was jointly developed with Russia. The BrahMos is a Mach 3, high acuracy cruise missile
> unknown numbers of S-300PMU-3 / S-400 missile defence systems from Russia (deployed near the Parliament House, BARC, etc)
> Trevor guns from Israel for the Special Forces
> 12 Donier Maritime recon planes from Germany
> Money kept aside for the latest Scorpene submarine purchase from France
> Indian Navy Sea Harrier Fleet Upgrade : The Navy Sea Harrier fleet is to acquire Beyond Visual Range (BVR) engagement capability in conjunction of Israeli EL/M 2032 radar and Derby BVR missiles.
> Several Kamov-31 Airborne Early Warning (AEW) Helicopters from Russia
> 20 GE-404 engines from the US for the indegenous Tejas LCA (as a stop gap measure till the indegenous Kaveri GTX-35VS engine is fixed
> Illyushin-78MKI In-flight Refueling Tanker from Russia
> Searcher Mk II and Heron UAVs from Israel
> 4 Tupolev-22M3 Backfire-C long range bombers from Russia
> Synthetic Aperture Radars & Laser Guided Bombs from Israel
> 3 TU-142 Bear F maritime patrol/ASW aircraft armed with Alfa and Uran-E anti-ship cruise



Note : 90% of the above mentioned deals come with technology transfer and co-production rights

[edit on 4-9-2005 by Stealth Spy]

I don't think you can classify the money spent on developing the brahmos as "military purchases"
Same with the Harrier upgrades.. Are they outsourced entirely all done at home with foreign assistance?

You could add the akula lease as a purchase though

edit: double post

[edit on 12-9-2005 by Daedalus3]

India has just (today) formally signed on to a 5.4 billion USD deal for 6 scorpene subs and 43 airbus jets.

The scorpene subs constituted 3 Billion USD while the jets made up the remaining 2.4 billion USD.
www.ndtv.com...
This single purchase puts india a the top of the buyers list with the purchase of 126 fighters,lease of 4 backfires,a nd 2 akula subs still pending..

The 5 billion USD deal supposedly convinced france to rally for India's cause in the NSG..
The US along with the UK has already agreed to do the same..
Also France has promised its full support for India bid for a permanent UNSC seat..
On this point the US has been non-committal while Russia and surprisingly China have promised support..

Money talks aye??

Originally posted by Daedalus3

The 5 billion USD deal supposedly convinced france to rally for India's cause in the NSG..

Well we all know what prostitutes the French are.

As for the Indians being able to chose from Indian or Western technology; it's not as though the Russians don't sell to anyone, they do. However western technology is often too expensive for any other countries, so they buy the cheaper less capable Russian equipment. This can clearly be seen with India's purchases you have listed of Russian equipment.
The Indian governemnt will have to do a bit more saving before they can afford the best

yeah well most of the stuff you mentioned as listed above was bought when India's ties with the west..correction.. the US were non-existent..
And with the scorpene deal(France) it shows that India indeed does have the money to buy western stuff..
Of course your claims that western equip is always better are pompous and baseless, for you will see that though the Indians have been offered the blk 70 F-16 and the superhornets with full capabilities, they are not jumping at the deal
and it seems that the French Mirage 2000H along with the MiG-29OVT/MiG-35 (with TVC) are still the frontrunners.

Iran use to be largest back in the 70's about 18.5 billion dollars a year worth of american equipment, imagine if it was still goin on today it probably me double the amount.

Originally posted by Daedalus3
yeah well most of the stuff you mentioned as listed above was bought when India's ties with the west..correction.. the US were non-existent..
And with the scorpene deal(France) it shows that India indeed does have the money to buy western stuff..

Well, French equipment anyway, hardly what I'd call cutting edge.

Of course your claims that western equip is always better are pompous and baseless, for you will see that though the Indians have been offered the blk 70 F-16 and the superhornets with full capabilities, they are not jumping at the deal
and it seems that the French Mirage 2000H along with the MiG-29OVT/MiG-35 (with TVC) are still the frontrunners.

Like I said, India can't afford them, hence why inferior equipment is being considered. Russian and french avionics aren't in a different league to French and Russian. Besides like the article said before, seems the Indians are buying from the French because they want french backing in the UN

Well, French equipment anyway, hardly what I'd call cutting edge

Shows what you know then, doesn't it?

French have some very good aircraft, missiles and small arms. They are also pretty well advanced in IFV's. And just to prove that the French aren't all garlic-munching, American hating peasants, they have the single best commercial heavy-lift rockets in the world.

Hell, the Exocet alone was a pain in the arse for the RN during the Falklands and they were launched by French-made Aircraft. Several RN ships were damaged/destroyed by these "hardly cutting edge" weapons.

Unfortunately for rogue1, its either the american way or the highway..

Many turning to this proverbial highway, I must say..