Aerospace Diary

LAND WARFARE 30th September 2016 - 9:54 by  Neelam Mathews  in Delhi  India’s Defence Acquisition Council, chaired by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, has cleared around $3 billion in procurements, including anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM)....more on ShephardMedia

AINONLINE by    NEELAM MATHEWS The Airbus C-295 might be the only qualified contender for India’s Avro 748 replacement project. (Photo: Airbus Defence & Space) July 22, 2014, 2:50 PM The new Indian government has re-issued the request for proposal ( RFP ) for 56 transport aircraft worth an estimated $2 billion, to replace the Indian Air Force’s aging Hawker Siddeley 748M twin-turboprops, known as Avros. The final date for submission of bids is August 28. The contract is expected to be awarded in late 2015 or early 2016. The candidates will likely include Alenia with the C-27J, Antonov with the An-32, and Airbus Defence  &  Space with the C-295. However, a decision on whether Alenia can bid is pending, after the  controversial sale of  AW 101 helicopters by fellow Finmeccanica subsidiary AgustaWestland was halted . There are also concerns about Antonov, from war-torn Ukraine. Should the C-295 end up as a sole bi...

 AIN DEFENSE PERSPECTIVE » JULY 12, 2013 by    NEELAM MATHEWS The Indian Air Force operates a fleet of more than 100 Antonov An-32 turboprops (offshoots of the An-26), a possible replacement for the service’s aging Avro/Hawker Siddeley HS.748Ms. (Photo: Antonov) July 12, 2013, 9:45 AM India will likely extend the submission deadline of a request for proposals ( RFP ) to replace the Indian Air Force’s aging Avro/Hawker Siddeley  HS .748M turboprops by another month, a defense ministry official told  AIN . The deadline is currently October 8; however, manufacturers face a challenge in identifying private partners in India that have adequate facilities for final assembly and component and sub-system manufacture of the replacement aircraft. I ndian government-owned companies are not allowed to participate in the  HS .748 replacement bid, a first for defense procurement. The winning vendor will be expected to deliver 1...

Defense Minister AK Antony will hand over the first batch of the indigenously designed and developed Surface-to-Air Missile, Akash, to the Indian Air Force at a function in Hyderabad on Saturday, March 3. Antony will also hand over the advanced light-weight torpedo, TAL to the Indian Navy. The Akash Weapon System (AWS) was indigenously developed by DRDO as part of the Integrated Guided Missile Developement Program (IGMDP) and is an all-weather, medium-range, Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) system. It provides multi-directional and multi-target area defense. The Akash missile can be launched from static or mobile platforms providing flexible deployment. The system can handle multiple targets and destroy manoeuvring targets such as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), fighter aircraft, cruise missiles and missiles launched from helicopters. It can operate autonomously, and engage and neutralize different aerial targets simultaneously. The Weapon System is considered as the Indian "Patri...