Hypothetical question.
The ACV program is dragging on. The Marine Personnel Carrier has somehow morphed into our primary ride till at least 2050 and beyond. With the program languishing in the budget hell that is the F-35, what happens if a US corporation decides to dump its foreign partner and go alone?
What would the fallout be?
Look at it like this. Foreign corporations have had to basically turn over the specs to their most prized vehicles to US firms to gain entry into a program that they have no guarantee of winning. Additionally those same foreign corporations have had to work hand in glove with US companies to setup tooling and manufacturing in this country so that if they do win they'll be able to start building the vehicles to meet what will likely be a very compressed production schedule.
So if Lockheed Martin stabs Patria, BAE body slams Iveco or SAIC dumps on ST Kinetics how would the foreign firms respond?
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How would they respond? Not much. It's fairly common in the arms trading world. Ask Sarabvir about what happens in India. Tech tie up, anonymous letter alleging "corruption", firm blacklisted, local supplier turns out a "homegrown" copy of the howitzer/carbine.
ReplyDeleteLife in the arms trading world as usual.
Though I doubt the foreign firm will even talk to the supplier ever again. But hey, the local guy is already laughing his way to the bank, so who cares?
http://www.indiandefencereview.com/news/defence-procurement-shrinking-competitor-pool/
Hah... almost make India sound as bad as China. Almost.
DeleteI dont think there is even one defence product which we have illegally reproduced in India. Even the Kalashnikov. There were some murmerings on the internet about the Rifles/Carbine competition but as you can see now, those allegations have also come to nothing. Colt, IWI and Berreta are going right ahead with not one single soldier here issued with a "illegally homegrown/copied" version of any assault rifle/carbine sold anywhere in the world.
On the Howitzer case, again I do not know of any factory producing knock offs of the Pegasus or M777's here.
Legal issues aside, there is a practical problem of parts supply. Foreign model adapted weapons have high foreign parts content, and replacing all the foreign supplied parts is no trivial task.
ReplyDeleteHow is this different to "partners" setting up shop in China? Same thing. And what has the west done with a number of Chinese "invention"? Nothing.
ReplyDeleteChina has been copying western made/designed goods since 1970's. Lead by the US, NOTHING can be done. Any company take China to court of copywrite infringement and China will find a way to "get back" at you.
Those electronic components found in some (if not all) of western systems? Better watch out. It doesn't matter if they are "Made in China" or not, China has copy/copies of the source code. This means that in time of conflict, someone anywhere around the world can launch a "shutdown code" or "e-kill" rendering a single-part-of-a-component useless. Fiction perhaps? Nope. China has done this on OTS gear.