Militarising for future

The Modi government has so far made the right noises about India's defence preparedness after a tepid decade that saw more tender cancellations and CBI probes than actual orders. The decision to scrap plans to make conventional submarines in favour of the harder-to-detect nuclear ones could be a game-changer for the Indian Navy. Though not equipped with nuclear missiles, these submarines don't come up for air and can therefore remain undetected for months. The government also wants to source stealth technology enabled fighters from Russia called the PAK FA which will eventually be developed into a Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft currently produced only by the US.  If Russia accepts the request, these fighters will be much more lethal than any counterpart in India's extended neighborhood.
Both platforms will not come cheap. The cost of constructing six conventional French submarines has shot up to over Rs. 5,000 crore per piece and they are still hobbled by delays. It is anyone’s guess what the final cost of the much superior nuclear submarines will be, especially because of India’s limited capabilities in this arena. The Russian stealth fighter PAK FA is still being flight tested and there is no clarity on costs. The engine, avionics and weapons suites are under development. The maintenance cost of these fighters will also be very high as compared to the planes they are supposed to replace.
In both cases India will heavily lean on Russia though the government is bound to market them as made-in-India products. Vladimir Putin had to intervene to end the endless cycle of escalating costs for INS Vikramaditya, a much simpler platform than nuclear submarines and stealth fighters.  Russia, like all high-end weapon producers, will extract a price for India's eagerness for equipment Pakistan can only dream of and for China to sit up and take notice. Defence analysts have consistently pointed out gaps in India's defence preparedness.  They should now give a rational assessment of the costs involved and whether the Indian citizen should be expected to finance it against demands from sectors providing security of a different kind but equally important.