US keeps dual use tech deal in limbo

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Washington has refrained from giving “strategic” dual use technology to the Indian defence and space industry, despite President Barack Obama’s announcement to lift restrictions on sale and transfer of the much-needed, cutting edge technology.

It is needed for development of India’s missile programme, avionics and communication systems to operate in a network-centric environment.

While the US Department of Commerce deals with dual use technology, defence and strategically important restrictions and the issue of doing away with restrictions are dealt with by the Department of State, sources in defence establishment said on Sunday.

Explaining the critical difference, they said the Department of State carefully examines defence-related issues and the US, so far, has only sold or transferred “pure” defence technology to a select few North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) allies.

Officials said the US was reluctant to lift sanctions on “high-end defence technology” urgently needed for the rapidly modernising armed forces of India. They also said the US was unlikely to open up in the coming months in this “crucial and sensitive sector”, given local laws and political compulsions.

As regards denial of defence technology, they said the US was not keen to part with know-how on the Global Positioning System (GPS), whose military use gives precision codes and resolution of less than 1 metre accuracy. These systems are one of the most vital components of radar for successfully guiding a missile.

Similarly, India will not get avionics and other sub-systems used by the US in the world’s most advanced fighter jet — the Raptor. These would give the Indian Air Force’s fighter aircraft the edge. Navigation systems are also critical for naval operations and the Indian Navy wants to acquire world-class system for operating in a network-centric environment.

Restrictions on transfer of dual technology to India were formally removed on January 24 after Obama’s November visit. Washington amended its Export Administration Regulations by removing nine Indian space and defence-related Indian entities from the US Department of Commerce’s ‘Entity List’.

These included Armament Research & Development Establishment, Defence Research & Development Laboratory, Missile Research & Development Complex, Hyderabad and Solid State Physics Laboratory. The four units are under the Defence Research & Development Organisation.

The units managed by Indian Space Research Organisation taken off the list include Solid Propellant Space Booster Plant, Space Centre at Sriharikota and Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre. Public sector Bharat Dynamics Limited was also removed from the entity list.

The US Government also removed India from various categories within the dual use regulations that formerly connoted India as a “country of concern”. New Delhi had been put on the entity list in the late 1980s and restrictions tightened in the wake of the Shakti series of nuclear tests, at Pokhran in May 1998.