Aerospace Diary

MARITIME SECURITY 30th October 2014 - 8:50 by  Neelam Mathews  in Delhi  The The delivery of the first P-75 submarines for the Indian Navy has been delayed by at least another year, bringing the delay to four years in total. Shephard  has learned that the first boat, built by Mazagon Docks in Mumbai to a Scorpene-class design from French Shipbuilder DCNS will not be delivered until late-2016. This is at least a year later than expected. At Defexpo in Delhi in  February , DCNS told  Shephard  that the first boat would be commissioned in 2015. Originally when the programme was conceived the first boat had been due to enter service in 2012. The P-75 programme has faced considerable delays due to bureaucratic issues and problems with the local sourcing. The hulls for all six boats have been completed and are waiting outfitting. Meanwhile a Request for Proposal (RFP) for six more new diesel-electric attack submarines (SSKs) is expected in ...

AINONLINE by    NEELAM MATHEWS The Boeing CH-47 is suited for India's austere environment and vast distances, the government believes. (Photo: Boeing) September 3, 2014, 9:27 AM India on August 29 approved industrial offset proposals to acquire 22 Boeing  AH -64E Apache attack helicopters and 15  CH -47F Chinook heavy lift helicopters for the Indian Air Force, a transaction valued at $2.5 billion. The country’s defense acquisition process requires that contracts in excess of $50 million require 30 percent offsets. Last year, Boeing signed a memorandum of understanding with Dynamatic Technologies of Bangalore to manufacture aft pylon and cargo ramp assemblies for the Chinook in anticipation of the larger agreement. The Indian government has declared manufacturing and export as priorities. The allowable limit for foreign direct investment in defense has been increased from 26 percent to 49 percent. The caveat that the ...

Neelam Mathews Sept 2, 2014 Extending dates for opening of tenders is so routine that it is not even news anymore.  As the world waited for baited breath for Aug 28 to dawn and for India's first private manufactured aircraft program to unveil, without any explanation, we hear, OEMs were told the date has now been extended to Oct 22.  Really! A day before Diwali? And thats going to happen?! If our calculations are correct , this is the fifth extension. Beginning to think there's a trend here..... We can only speculate why this is happening by a government that calls itself proactive and one that must move fast before its credibility takes a bolt- 1. They want to dunk the tender 2. We are hearing Alenia with its 27J did want want to participate and has not spoken to any Indian partners. This could be a lack of clear guidelines on the part of the MoD for the past year on blacklisting, not sure whether it wants to blacklist who, why, when or not.  3. They are...

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  »  AUGUST 23, 2013 by    NEELAM MATHEWS The first Indian Navy P-8I Poseidon at Utkrosh naval air station. The jet may be a contender for India’s latest maritime patrol aircraft requirement, even though a smaller aircraft is envisioned. (Photo: Indian Navy) August 23, 2013, 10:35 AM India’s Ministry of Defense (MoD) has issued a request for proposal for nine medium-range maritime reconnaissance ( MRMR ) aircraft for the Indian Navy, plus 38 anti-ship missiles. The Navy has taken delivery of the first of eight Boeing P-8I Poseidon jets, and Boeing Harpoon anti-ship missiles. Although the new  RFP  seems to encourage smaller, lower-cost airframes and weapons, its terms may limit the bids. The  RFP  states the aircraft must fly a transit of 400 nm at 300 knots and patrol 400 nm for four hours at a height of 10,000 feet, configured with two missiles with a range of about 50 nm. The Mo...

 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...

PARIS AIR SHOW  »  2013 by    NEELAM MATHEWS Sikorsky S-92 cabins are now being manufactured in India under a joint venture with Tata Advanced Systems. The facility recently increased production to four units per month. June 17, 2013, 2:40 AM As vendors await the announcement of belated contracts, India continues to grapple with its ever-changing  defense procurement policy , with the latest– DPP  2013–announced and effective from June 1. The focus of  DPP 2013 is on buying Indian defense products, even though these can fill only a fraction of the country’s requirements. It is being viewed as a kneejerk reaction to bribery allegations surrounding the procurement of AgustaWestland  AW 101  VVIP  helicopters. “The new procedures will give further impetus and a new momentum to indigenization,” Defense Minister  A.K.  Antony said recently. “We also [want] to aggressively pursue indigenizatio...

Neelam Mathews May 9, 2013 We're hearing from reliable sources that the RFP for the Avro replacement is out. The bid has gone to several companies including HAL, which was originally not to be part of the bid.  However, we could not confirm whether HAL was also a recipient. Let us hope this time around, there will be a serious effort to manufacture the aircraft in the country rather than bring in licensed production as has been the norm.

AIN DEFENSE PERSPECTIVE  »  MAY 3, 2013 by    NEELAM MATHEWS IAI-Elta will likely re-bid its airborne integrated signal intelligence system (Aisis), seen here on a Gulfstream G550 model, for a new Indian requirement. (Photo: Chris Pocock) May 3, 2013, 11:09 AM Within the next month, the Indian Air Force ( IAF ) will re-release a request for proposal ( RFP ) for nine aircraft to perform signals intelligence (Sigint), communications jamming (Comjam), ground survey and target towing roles. The previous  RFP released four years ago shortlisted Embraer and Israel Aerospace Industries ( IAI ), both offering the  IAI -Elta airborne integrated signal intelligence system (Aisis). But delays in defining India’s offset policy resulted in price escalation from the bidders, leading the Indian defense ministry to cancel that  RFP . The new  RFP  specifies a larger aircraft that can carry 10 passengers. T...