On R-Day,not much new to parade

These include new artillery guns,light helicopters and air defence systems.

With several key military acquisitions and indigenous development projects remaining stuck at different levels in the Defence Ministry,there was little new on display at the 63rd Republic Day parade here on Thursday.

In fact,the line-up of military systems has remained unchanged for decades,with only minor alterations and shuffles.

The Armys display was led by a column of T 72 tanks some of the oldest in the armoured inventory,designed in the 1970s which have been rolling down the parade road for several decades now. Following it were T 72 tank mine ploughers of the same vintage and the SMERCH and Pinaka multiple rocket systems that have been repeated several times in the last five years.

The only new appearance was an indigenously developed water purification system designed for nuclear,biological and chemical warfare. The Army also once again put together a flight of its Advanced Light Helicopters,which have been giving serious worries due to severe serviceability issues.

Underlining the slow procurement process are the large number of projects that have been stuck at very advanced stages over the past few months. These include new artillery guns,light helicopters and air defence systems.

While the Air Force flew a formation of its newly-acquired C 130 J transport aircraft for the display,it too had little new to showcase. As has now become the norm for the past several years,Jaguar,MiG 29 and Sukhoi 30 MKI fighters performed a sedate flypast. The traditional flypast saw no innovation as the ageing transport and helicopter fleet took part in the now familiar Big Boy and Chakra formation.

The only new addition to the Air Force fleet in the past decade has been C 130 J aircraft,barring the Hawk trainers that were inducted in 2008. The acquisition of new generation fighters is already several months behind schedule while the basic trainer contract is stuck. The Air Force has also not been able to finalise the heavy lift and attack choppers deal.

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While the absence of a nuclear capable missile stood out during last years parade,this year saw the 3000-km Agni IV missile recently re-designated from its older code name of Agni 2 Dash on display,although it is yet to be fully operational with the strategic forces. The new systems on display were the 150-km range Prahaar tactical battlefield support missile and the under-development Rustom-1 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle UAV.

The much-hyped missile defence system,which DRDO Chief V K Saraswar had promised would be ready for induction within two years during a media interaction in 2009,was missing from the parade.

The Navy,which has traditionally been at a disadvantage at the parade due to the landlocked location of the capital,had models of the Delhi class destroyer first commissioned in 1997,the IL 38 maritime reconnaissance aircraft inducted in 1977 and Sea King helicopters first inducted in 1970. The newly-acquired MiG 29 K fighters,which have been operating from a land-based facility in Goa in the absence of the Gorshkov aircraft carrier that is scheduled to arrive this year,were missing.