June 24,
2008: Indian efforts to curb corruption
in defense procurement have hit a snag. Part of the anti-corruption program has
been a black list. Firms that have been caught paying bribes to Indian
officials, or otherwise misbehaving, are blocked from doing any more business
with India. It soon became apparent that this was not going to work in some
cases. Spare parts and replacement munitions were needed for many systems
manufactured by firms on the black list. The navy, for example, wanted more
Barak anti-missile missiles for its ships.
Over the
last six years, Israel has sold nearly five billion dollars worth of arms to
India. The biggest single item, with sales of nearly half a billion dollars,
has been the Barak anti-missile systems for ships. The Barak system uses small
missiles to shoot down incoming anti-ship missiles. Israel weapons have a solid
reputation for reliability and effectiveness. Israeli success in several wars
adds to the appeal of their armaments. U.S. and Israeli arms manufacturers
often work together, which also gives Israel an edge when selling their
equipment.
An Indian
corruption investigations revealed that large bribes were paid to Indian
officials, to make those Barak sales happen. Those naughty Israelis joined
naughty Swedes and naughty people from several other nations that had made
major weapons sales to India. It's not like India is the only nation that has
corruption problems in the military procurement area. All nations do, but the
extent of the corruption varies quite a lot, and India would like to move away
from the top of the list. This will please Indian taxpayers, as well as those
concerned about defense matters, especially people in the military. When military
suppliers are selected mainly on the basis of how large a bribe they will pay,
you often do not get the best stuff available.
But once
you've made a major purchase via a tainted process, you have to keep buying
material to keep the system (assuming it meets your needs) operational. Despite
the bribes, the Barak missiles have performed as advertised. So did the Swedish
artillery, and many other items bought only after the procurement officials got
their gratuity.
