Indian Govt Pushes BAE M777 Gun Deal

M777 at Defexpo 2012 | Photo / Shiv Aroor
The Indian government's Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) today approved the acquisition of 145 BAE Systems M777 ultra-light howitzers for the Indian Army. The deal will still have to be cleared by the Finance Ministry and the apex Cabinet Committee on Security before a foreign military sales (FMS) contract is signed between the Indian and U.S. governments.

The approval means the establishment has been able to step over a controversy that bubbled up a little over a year ago where excerpts of a the classified trial report were clipped to an anonymous complaint letter that landed on the Defence Minister's desk. Wonder how they got through that one.

If this deal goes through, it'll be the first howitzers India has bought since the Bofors scam. Sweet irony that BAE owns Bofors now.

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