NEW DELHI \u2014 Despite the Indian Navy’s serious reservations, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has quietly permitted state-owned Bharat Electronics Limited\u00a0to team up with Raytheon of the United States to complete the much-delayed network-centric operation project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bharat Electronics (BEL) was nominated by the MoD\u00a0last year\u00a0for the second time to build the network-centric operation (NCO) system at a cost of $100 million, and it is scheduled to be ready by early next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The system\u00a0will link crucial assets including shore-based radar networks, aircraft\u00a0and Indian Navy warships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
The Indian Navy has repeatedly told\u00a0MoD that it is not in the national interest to acquire hardware and\u00a0encryption software for the NCO project from a partnership\u00a0with a\u00a0foreign company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“It is not feasible for any sovereign nation to weaken its operational doctrines and operational orders that would flow on” NCO\u00a0networks developed with a foreign company, said a senior Indian Navy official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“However, the government has taken a complete U-turn and ignored our demand that NCO hardware should be fully developed by an\u00a0Indian company and encryption software by the Indian Navy itself,” the\u00a0official added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The NCO project can succeed only if\u00a0BEL uses sufficient domestic content for the hardware and develops the software completely in India, either in-house or by teaming up with Indian companies, said another\u00a0Navy official said, adding that\u00a0Raytheon will have to obtain\u00a0International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) clearance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Even if BEL can make a successful NCO system with Raytheon, the bigger question is upgrades \u2014\u00a0after five years the hardware will become obsolete and software upgrades will require hardware upgrades,”\u00a0a defense analyst said, who spoke on condition of anonymity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kiran\u00a0Visweswaraiah, general manager of international marketing at BEL, said: “We have teamed with Raytheon in January this year and by mid next year [the NCO] will be successfully inducted into Indian Navy.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An executive with Raytheon, who spoke on condition of\u00a0anonymity, confirmed that the company has partnered with BEL for the NCO program and will provide software solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to\u00a0Shyam Kumar Singh, a retired Indian Navy captain:\u00a0“BEL and Raytheon will be able to deliver a successful NCO prototype.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Singh said\u00a0Raytheon has already delivered advanced systems to the Indian Navy through BEL,\u00a0including\u00a0the Athena system, a battle space information network which integrates a wide range of inputs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2011, Raytheon was selected as the lowest bidder for a global NCO tender but the contract was called off because it did not agree to a full technology transfer to BEL, the nodal agency to build NCO system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Indian Navy had floated a global tender for an NCO project in 2007, which was sent to Lockheed Martin and Raytheon of the United States, Thales of France,\u00a0EADS of Germany, Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI) and Rafael of Israel, and BAE Systems of the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n