Army planning trial units in commands to expedite acquisition

Gen Bikram Singh is planning to set up trials cell in each of six army commands to fasten up the process of field evaluations of arms and equipment.

New Delhi: Against the backdrop of delays in procurement of weapon systems, Army Chief Gen Bikram Singh is planning to set up trials cell in each of the six army commands to fasten up the process of field evaluations of arms and equipment. The step will help the Army to save the time take taken to carry out these trials and will also help in ensuring more transparency and accountability in the trials process, Army sources told PTI here. The sources said the Army Chief is planning to create a trial cell in each of the six operational commands of the force so that the process of trial of weapon systems and equipment can be fastened up, they said.

Doing away with the `hollowness` and slow modernisation is one of the key focus areas of Gen Singh. At present, the trial cell is located in the Army headquarters which forms trial teams in operational areas and get reports from them but these teams are not accountable for this particular task to their immediate superior formations. With trial cells set up in all commands, the onus of conducting trials in a specified time period would lie with these commands. The Army has currently more than 500 procurement cases going on to meet its various requirements. It is also evaluating a number of Indian and foreign equipment for its troops. In recent times, the Army faced several problems in its acquisitions due to problems in the trials and evaluation process. Many of its deals including the procurement of 197 helicopters for its aviation wing had to be scrapped in 2007 due to issues with evaluation process. PTI