Vivek Raghuvanshi
NEW DELHI — Despite the Indian Navy's serious reservations, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has quietly permitted state-owned Bharat Electronics Limited to team up with Raytheon of the United States to complete the much-delayed network-centric operation project.
Bharat Electronics (BEL) was nominated by the MoD last year for the second time to build the network-centric operation (NCO) system at a cost of $100 million, and it is scheduled to be ready by early next year.
The system will link crucial assets including shore-based radar networks, aircraft and Indian Navy warships.
The Indian Navy has repeatedly told MoD that it is not in the national interest to acquire hardware and encryption software for the NCO project from a partnership with a foreign company.
"It is not feasible for any sovereign nation to weaken its operational doctrines and operational orders that would flow on" NCO networks developed with a foreign company, said a senior Indian Navy official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
"However, the government has taken a complete U-turn and ignored our demand that NCO hardware should be fully developed by an Indian company and encryption software by the Indian Navy itself," the official added.
Read the full story at DefenseNews