Days after a defeat in the Indian Army’s multi-billion contest for very short range air defence systems (VSHORADS), Sweden’s Saab indicates today that it would contemplate knocking on the door of Indian courts, an option available to it as part of the country’s defence procurement procedure.
Saab’s Asia-Pacific head Dean Rosenfield said today in Bangkok, “We are evaluating the loss in the VSHORADS program, and evaluating a legal challenge that remains one of the options.”
9K338 Igla-S, the lowest bidder in the competition
Russia’s KBM Igla-S was named L1 (lowest compliant bidder) on November 19 in a hugely protracted evaluation process beating Saab’s RBS-70NG and MBDA’s Mistral. The Indian Army is looking for 800 twin launchers and 5,000 missiles to plug tactical air defence gaps at forward establishments near the country’s frontier areas.
Saab CEO was in Delhi this week, where the company’s defeat is almost certain to have come up in a meeting with Indian defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The Indian MoD is said to have so far communicated that processes have been followed, though questions remain.
As with all protests of this kind, Saab will need to evaluate the potential efficacy of taking the Indian MoD to court. The VSHORADS evaluation process has been a troubled one to say the least, though there is no historical indication that courtroom wrangling with the MoD has ever yielded a favourable result. On the other hand, for an obviously problematic process, a hands-off approach could simply validate liberties that seen frequently to be taken with India’s Defence Procurement Procedure. Saab will have to consider all of this before it takes a decision. What could weigh on Saab’s mind more than any other factor is its contender status in India’s new fighter contest. Without precedent or assurance that the rule of law works to hammer out glitches in India’s armament evaluation and decision making process, an entire industry potentially waits for Saab to decide.
SAAB's RBS 70NG
”Reality certainly hits home, and it’s a reminder that it’s not all roses. But we have 60 days to decide if we wish to pursue this legally. We wouldn’t want to waste the government’s time or our own,” Rosenfield said.
Saab, which fields the Gripen E in India’s recently kicked-off contest to buy and build 114 fighters in country, will evaluate the legal route on the back of a series of letters both protesting the VSHORADS decision as well as seeking greater clarity on how Russia’s Igla-S — a system that didn’t participate in every trial round — was deemed compliant with the process and not disqualified. The defeat came months after another disappointment for Saab — when India pulled the plug on the army’s SRSAM procurement program, a three-way contest between Saab’s BAMSE, Israel’s SpyDer and Russia’s Tor-M2KM.
https://www.livefistdefence.com/201...-route-to-protest-indian-vshorads-defeat.html
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@Milspec @Hellfire @randomradio @vstol Jockey
If they do indeed pursue this legally, I would think its very likely that this competition will go the same way that the Carbine tender seems to be going. Cancelling and re-issuing of RFP. I wonder when MoD will realize that this procurement model doesn't work.
Saab’s Asia-Pacific head Dean Rosenfield said today in Bangkok, “We are evaluating the loss in the VSHORADS program, and evaluating a legal challenge that remains one of the options.”
9K338 Igla-S, the lowest bidder in the competition
Russia’s KBM Igla-S was named L1 (lowest compliant bidder) on November 19 in a hugely protracted evaluation process beating Saab’s RBS-70NG and MBDA’s Mistral. The Indian Army is looking for 800 twin launchers and 5,000 missiles to plug tactical air defence gaps at forward establishments near the country’s frontier areas.
Saab CEO was in Delhi this week, where the company’s defeat is almost certain to have come up in a meeting with Indian defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The Indian MoD is said to have so far communicated that processes have been followed, though questions remain.
As with all protests of this kind, Saab will need to evaluate the potential efficacy of taking the Indian MoD to court. The VSHORADS evaluation process has been a troubled one to say the least, though there is no historical indication that courtroom wrangling with the MoD has ever yielded a favourable result. On the other hand, for an obviously problematic process, a hands-off approach could simply validate liberties that seen frequently to be taken with India’s Defence Procurement Procedure. Saab will have to consider all of this before it takes a decision. What could weigh on Saab’s mind more than any other factor is its contender status in India’s new fighter contest. Without precedent or assurance that the rule of law works to hammer out glitches in India’s armament evaluation and decision making process, an entire industry potentially waits for Saab to decide.
SAAB's RBS 70NG
”Reality certainly hits home, and it’s a reminder that it’s not all roses. But we have 60 days to decide if we wish to pursue this legally. We wouldn’t want to waste the government’s time or our own,” Rosenfield said.
Saab, which fields the Gripen E in India’s recently kicked-off contest to buy and build 114 fighters in country, will evaluate the legal route on the back of a series of letters both protesting the VSHORADS decision as well as seeking greater clarity on how Russia’s Igla-S — a system that didn’t participate in every trial round — was deemed compliant with the process and not disqualified. The defeat came months after another disappointment for Saab — when India pulled the plug on the army’s SRSAM procurement program, a three-way contest between Saab’s BAMSE, Israel’s SpyDer and Russia’s Tor-M2KM.
https://www.livefistdefence.com/201...-route-to-protest-indian-vshorads-defeat.html
++++
@Milspec @Hellfire @randomradio @vstol Jockey
If they do indeed pursue this legally, I would think its very likely that this competition will go the same way that the Carbine tender seems to be going. Cancelling and re-issuing of RFP. I wonder when MoD will realize that this procurement model doesn't work.
