DAC to Meet Soon to Decide on 126 MRCAs for IAF

By Staff
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Google Oneindia News

New Delhi, June 18 (UNI) The Defence Acquisition Committee (DAC) will finally be meeting within the fortnight to decide on the Request for Proposal (RFP) for the acquisition of 126 jet fighters by the Indian Air Force, Defence Minister AK Antony today said.

''The DAC will be meeting within a fortnight and decide on the RFP... All negotiations are over and now it is a question of formalities,'' the Minister told mediapersons here when asked about the delay in issuing the RFP document for the multi-billion dollar acquisition programme.

He said the RFP was likely to be issued within ''one or two months'' -- but this Minister Antony has said on earlier occasions too.

Asked whether the Defence Ministry was worried about the acquisition of airpower by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), he said: ''We are watching that... We are not worried... but we are concerned... A terrorist organisation gaining this kind of capability is a matter of concern.'' On Sri Lanka, he said India had ''the most cordial relations'' with the island country. ''We are committed to its sovereignty, unity and integrity....'' To Colombo's request for the supply of radars and other equipment to help them in their fight against the LTTE, he said: ''We will support them with whatever help they need.'' However, he observed that ''the ultimate solution'' to the ethnic problem was ''not military but political''.

Asked why the budgetary resources of the Defence Ministry remained unspent in the previous fiscal, Minister Antony said the Defence Procurement Policy -- bringing in new procedures and rules -- was approved in September 2006.

''There was a certain delay, but we will fulfil the targets this year,'' he asserted.

UNI

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