LONDON, JUNE 18: ``They have not been able to do this because Americans are not allowing this.,'' says Fernandes, ``.they are not lifting sanctions to procure the concerned spare parts.(they) are not even returning the aircraft.there is some break even on that.''The impact of these sanctions extends to the aircraft in India. ``(It is) not just the aircraft that have come here but even those still with us,'' says Fernandes. He said the Navy had ``started cannibalising them'' - which means using components from one aircraft as spares to run other aircraft from the fleet. This leaves the Navy with fewer functioning aircraft.Indian defence sources say that because of the situation arising out of the US sanctions the Navy has cut down on flying hours of these two aircraft which form the mainstay of the Indian Navy's air wing. The 22 Harrier VSTOL (vertical/short take-off and landing) jets, which India had purchased from the British Aerospace (BAe) in the mid-1980s to operate off its aircraft carriers Vikrant and Viraat, are used in the crucial role of defending the naval fleet from aerial attack. The multi-role Sea King 42B and 42C variants of helicopters operate from all major warships, including the Delhi and Godavari class. They form the Navy's bulwark of anti-submarine, anti-ship and troop transport capability.These issues were raised during George Fernandes' meeting with British Trade and Industry Minister Stephen Byers on June 14. The Defence Minister said Byers had assured him that ``they have been making efforts'' to find a way out. Asked why the British were unable to act independently of the US in such matters, Fernandes said ``I cannot comment on that.'' Fernandes said the Royal Navy would in fact be participating in the international fleet review to be held in Mumbai in February 2001.India should have greater leverage in forcing the UK government to find a way out of the situation since the UK stands to benefit hugely from a prospective sale of the 66 BAe Hawk trainer jets to meet the IAF's critical need for an advanced jet trainer. The deal which would be worth around Rs 4000 crore (around 600 million pounds) to BAe - this week it announced major job cuts - is something that the UK government has openly committed itself to pursuing. The British industry has seen job losses on an unprecedented scale in the last quarter. Neil Haylock, a union representative at BAe, said that a lack of orders for the jet was to blame for the announced job losses at the Hawk assembly sites in Warton.Last year the Indian Navy had shelved plans for a mid-life upgrade of its remaining fleet of Sea Harrier jets on board the sole aircraft carrier Viraat. It instead announced the purchase of MiG-29K jets from Russia for the aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov which it plans to also acquire from Russia. The Navy said the decision to buy the MiGs was purely financial and a better use of the $ 200 million (Rs 800 crore) earmarked for the Harrier upgrade.In the light of the Defence Minister's revelations regarding the situation of Sea Kings and Sea Harriers, the decision may not have been simply a financial one.
