News World Nehru allowed flights of US spy planes over Tibet, border areas: declassified CIA document

Nehru allowed flights of US spy planes over Tibet, border areas: declassified CIA document

Washington: After India's defeat in the 1962 war with China, then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru allowed American U-2 spy plane overflights of Tibet and border areas, including a refuelling track over India, according to newly-declassified



Through the use of "unvouchered" funds - virtually free from any external oversight or accounting - the CIA could write chequws to finance secret programmes, such as the U-2.



As it turned out, Lockheed produced the 20 aircraft at a total of $18,977,597 (including $1.9 million in profit), or less than $1 million per plane. It was all "under budget", the report noted, calling it "a miracle in today's defence contracting world".





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