Bangalore, Aug 20: Defence Minister George Fernandes today said the much-awaited Advance Jet Trainer (AJT) deal would be cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) "within the next fortnight". "The government decision should come within the next fortnight," Fernandes told reporters after attending a function of Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) here.
Asked about "other players" in the reckoning apart from the British Hawk, he declined to comment on it, saying, "Whatever we (Ministry of Defence) have decided, is before the CCS. It is not for me to make any comment". Asked about the number of AJTs the government would purchase, Fernandes said, "All this is part of the cabinet papers."
He said he could not "tell at this moment" how long it would take to induct the AJTs into the Indian Air Force (IAF), as it would be difficult to say how many of them were available at one go.
Fernandes initially said the AJT issue was with the CCS and "I have reason to believe that in the next meeting of CCS in a few days, it should be cleared".
To a pointed query, however, he emphatically said the decision should come "within the next fortnight".
Reminded that he had made a similar statement in an earlier Aero India air show about a final decision on AJT being taken within a month, he said he was then not aware of "the manoeuvres that take place". Bureau Report