이미지뷰The K30 Biho conducts a test firing in Pocheon, Gyeonggi, last year. [YONHAP]
The Russian government is attempting to slam the brakes on Korea’s sale of 3 trillion won (around $2.66 billion) in anti-aircraft arms to India, according to official sources in Seoul.
The Indian military selected a Korean-built anti-aircraft system as a candidate for acquisition last October after a bidding process involving a number of foreign arms makers as part of a recent plan by New Delhi to upgrade its air defenses.
The weapon in question - the K30 Biho - was developed by Korea’s Agency for Defense Development in 2013 as a short range anti-aircraft and anti-missile system. In the bidding process, it beat out an upgraded Tunguska-M1 model built by the Russian state-owned defense company Almaz-Antey and the Pantsir missile system from the Russian KPB Instrument Design Bureau. The K30 Biho was judged the most capable of dual purpose use as an anti-missile and anti-aircraft defense system.
If a final contract is signed for the acquisition of the K30 Biho - paired with the surface-to-air Chiron missile developed by the Korean aerospace manufacturer LIG Nex1 - India plans to deploy the system by 2020 along a point on its border with Pakistan where five brigades are stationed.
The bidding was first officially announced in 2013, and the candidate weapons were evaluated throughout 2015 and tested in 2017. The Korean defense industry was eyeing the Indian market as a chance to move away from domestic sales to exports. The contract involves exporting 104 Biho systems, 97 ammunition carriers, 39 command vehicles, 4,928 missiles and 172,260 rounds of ammunition, bringing the contract’s total value to 2.5 to 3 trillion won.
Moscow, however, a traditional supplier of arms to India, apparently ordered its Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu to publicly express dissatisfaction with the decision on the sidelines of a military conference between the two countries Dec. 18.
Shoygu told the Indians that the Indian military had not properly tested the weapon in a deliberate attempt to not buy arms from Russia, according to a source in the Korean government.
The Russians followed this up by sending an official request to the Indian Defense Ministry asking it to re-evaluate the bidding process.
Considering that 62 percent of all weapons bought by the Indian military between 2013 and 2017 were acquired from Russia, defense analysts in Seoul say it may be difficult for Korea to overcome the Russian interference.
“The fact that its weapons were outgunned in the bidding must have come at a major shock to Russia, which prides itself as the leading manufacturer of combined defense systems,” the Korean official said. “We expect them to attempt to block this deal to the end.”
Russia screws up Korea’s arms sales to India
Russia wants back in on India’s gun and missile system competition
NEW DELHI — Russia has lodged a protest over India’s decision to disquality its two munitions systems from the $1.6 billion Army program, spurring newfound tensions between the two allies.
During a meeting of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military Technical Cooperation in New Delhi Thursday, visiting Russia Defence Minister Gen. Sergei Shoigu made clear his displeasure about the upgraded Tunguska system and a system from Pantsir being kicked out of the pending program, a source from the India Ministry of Defence confirmed.
Two competitors had been arguing the Russian firm should be disqualified under Indian procurement rules.
In October, the Indian Army officially declared Hanwha Defense Systems of South Korea as the only qualified company for the gun and missile system program. In the 2013 global tender, Indian Army shortlisted three companies — Hanwha Defense Systems, which offered its Hybrid Biho system, and Russian companies Almaz Ante, which offered its upgraded Tunguska system, and KBP Tula, which offer its Pantsir system. During the IRIGC-MTC, Gen. Shoigu accused the Indian Army trial teams of purposely not completing the full trials last year. A Russian diplomat said on condition of anonymity that the two defense companies and the Russian defense ministry issued separate letters to MoD last month to reevaluate the entire selection process before making a final call.
Indian defense forces have been apprehensive about the fate of armament supplies from Russia following U.S. sanctions on Russian entities.
However, a senior Indian Army official said both the upgraded Tunguska system fielded by Almaz Ante and Pantsir by KBP Tula systems were not fully compliant during the trials. The program calls for procurement of five regiments, or 104 systems, of gun missiles systems, including 4,928 missiles and 172,260 rounds of ammunition costing $1.6 billion. The winner will have to provide full maintenance technology transfer for missiles to state-owned Ordnance Factory Board. The proposed gun and missile system should have a day and night camera functionality and a built-in simulator, and the gun should engage a target at 350 rounds per second, while the missile should have a range of five kilometers. The system should be able to operate up to 50 kilometers on a single fuel tank, and should have a minimum operation endurance of eight hours without refueling.
The Indian Army is looking for a mix of both gun and missiles mounted on one or separate high mobility vehicles. In addition, the gun as well as the missile should be able to engage aerial targets both with and without the fire control radar, either independently or simultaneously.
