The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) faces a Rs 300-crore question when it takes up the Hawk advanced jet trainers (AJT) proposal for clearance. There is a Rs 300-crore difference between the British Aerospace’s final price for 66 Hawk advanced jet trainers (AJTs) and the purchase offer of the Defence Ministry on the Rs 6,000 crore deal. While the Ministry is all set to put the proposal on the CCS agenda this week, it is keeping its fingers crossed. The British company has indicated that it has no intentions of lowering the price. ‘‘It is a take-it-or-leave-it situation,’’ said a senior government official. Defence Minister George Fernandes indicated the predicament when he announced at Bangalore last week that the deal is before the CCS but refused to comment on whether the decision will be favourable or not. It is understood that British Aerospace has offered the Hawk jet trainer at around Rs 60 crore per aircraft. The Hawk proposal was approved by the Finance Ministry in June after British Prime Minister Tony Blair raised the issue with Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in St Petersburg on May 31. Besides the purchase of 66 aircraft, the deal involves purchase of spares and other ancillary equipment to the tune of Rs 2,000 crore. Giving a go-ahead to the deal means that either the political leadership will have to take the aircraft at the manufacturer’s "best and final offer" or adjust the Rs 300 crore through some concessions. However, given the fact that Fernandes is targeted by the Opposition, there is a view in the government that the CCS should postpone the decision as it is the fag end of the NDA’s five-year term. Wary of the fact that the Opposition will make defence scams an issue in the forthcoming general elections, there are chances that the CCS may defer the proposal. ‘‘The AJT has been hanging fire for 16 years, it will not make any difference if the acquisition is held up for some more months,’’ said the official. Even the IAF, which is keen that the deal is approved, knows that it will have to be a political decision due to the substantial price difference. It is for this reason that the AJT price negotiating committee, headed by then Air Force Vice Chief Air Marshal S.G. Inamdar, left the decision to the Government.
