VOA常速英语2008年-India to Buy Military Transport Planes From Uni

By Anjana Pasricha
New Delhi
03 February 2008

India is set to buy six Hercules transport planes from U.S-based Lockheed Martin. As Anjana Pasricha reports from New Delhi, this will be India's biggest arms deal with the United States, and a major departure in New Delhi's military purchasing policies.

 

Defense¹ Ministry² officials says India's security cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, recently approved a deal to buy six Hercules transport planes from the United States.

The contract for the C-130J planes is expected to be signed next month. The deal will be worth more than $1 billion.

Lockheed Martin officials have told local media they will configure the planes according to India's needs, and equip them with missiles and radar³ warning systems. The planes are meant to enhance India's special forces capability⁴.

Although the number of planes involved is small, the deal represents a major change in policy by New Delhi. The Indian Air Force currently uses transport aircraft supplied by the former Soviet⁵ Union. The Hercules purchase will mark the first big entry of American military equipment into the Indian defense forces, which for decades have relied heavily on Soviet arms and armaments.

 

Defense analyst⁶ Uday Bhaskar, former director of Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses in New Delhi, says the purchase of American military equipment follows the vast improvement in the political and strategic relationship between the two countries in recent years.

"The United States has not been a significant supplier of military inventory⁷ to India for a variety of complex reasons that go back to the Cold War,' said Bhaskar. "The contract for the transport aircraft is a positive development, and it would balance the field as far as India is concerned. My sense is that the United States and India would be looking at this for the long term."

Lockheed Martin and Boeing, the other major American aircraft manufacturer, are also bidding on a $10 billion contract to supply India with 126 combat aircraft. New Delhi is further reported to be negotiating the purchase of American reconnaissance aircraft.

India has emerged as the biggest buyer of military equipment in the developing world, and is projected to spend $50 billion over the next decade to modernize⁸ its military. U.S. arms exporters are eager to get a slice of this lucrative⁹ market.

 

Observers say the United States and Israel could overtake India's traditional defense suppliers, such as Russia, France and Britain, in the years to come.

1 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

2 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

3 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

4 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

5 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

6 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

7 inventory   

n.详细目录，存货清单

参考例句：

• Some stores inventory their stock once a week.有些商店每周清点存货一次。
• We will need to call on our supplier to get more inventory.我们必须请供应商送来更多存货。

8 modernize   

vt.使现代化，使适应现代的需要

参考例句：

• It was their manifest failure to modernize the country's industries.他们使国家进行工业现代化，明显失败了。
• There is a pressing need to modernise our electoral system.我们的选举制度迫切需要现代化。

9 lucrative   

adj.赚钱的，可获利的

参考例句：

• He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
• It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。