NEW DELHI – The North Atlantic Treaty Organization has not invited India to become a partner in its missile defense program, Defense Minister A.K. Antony told parliament Wednesday. Media reports in September, quoting several top NATO officials in Brussels, said the military alliance offered to share missile defense technology with India. The reports said NATO wanted a dialog with India similar to that Washington and New Delhi have as bilateral partners.

New Delhi – India’s air force will soon submit a flight evaluation report on the two aircraft vying to fulfill the service’s need for six midair refuelers. EADS, through its Military Transport Aircraft Div., is offering the Airbus Military A330 multirole tanker transport, while Russia’s Ilyushin has proposed more of its Il-78s. The IAF has been operating six Il-78s for more than five years. Defense officials say the IAF required a new tender to procure refuelers to augment the Il-78s.

NEW DELHI — Warship projects in India are being delayed due to lack of high-quality steel and slow delivery of major weapons, sensors and propulsion equipment from both indigenous and foreign sources, junior Defense Minister Pallam Raju told the Indian parliament Wednesday. Two out of three stealth frigates — INS Shivalik and INS Satpura — have been delivered and the third — INS Sahyadri — is scheduled to be delivered in India’s current fiscal year, which ends March 31, 2012.