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Journalism of Courage
The Armys artillery procurement process has taken another hit with the controversial Bofors gun,which came on top of three cancelled trials,pulling out of the latest bid to purchase towed 155 mm artillery guns. The manufacturer of the gun,BAE systems,has confirmed that it will not be responding to the latest tenders that have been issued by the Army.
The reason,the company said,is purely commercial as it feels the requirements in the new tender have been relaxed,allowing less capable,and therefore cheaper,guns to enter the competition.
This has once again put the Armys nine-year-old search to purchase new guns under question,with doubts on how many companies will participate. The Army has not procured a single new gun after the Bofors controversy broke out in the 1980s.
This has thrown the artillery procurement process into disarray,with three firms that manufacture the gun STK,Denel and Soltam having been recommended for blacklisting by the CBI. The only remaining player of repute,BAE,has now pulled out of the race,after burning its hands three times on the procurement process.
