NEW DELHI: Some hi-tech weapon systems procured from abroad were delivered in a defective condition and the supply of other vital gear has run into time over- runs, Defense Minister AK Antony said here.

"Large portions of equipment imported from abroad were found to be defective," he said while inaugurating a two-day brainstorming session of heads of the country's 39 ordnance factories.

Supplies of equipment by foreign firms for many defense projects of a vital strategic nature had also run into heavy time over-runs, he said.

Without naming the weapon systems or the countries that supplied them, Antony made it clear that the government was acting to ensure that foreign suppliers of military gear strictly compiled with contractual obligations.

"We will check this," he said. At the same time, he made it clear to the armed forces that procurements from abroad could not continue "indefinitely", and emphasized that in the long term a country like India could not afford to spend heavily on weapon imports.

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