Aerospace Diary

Neelam Mathews Aug 14, 2014   Recently, while visiting the head office of a US publication I write for regularly, I was surprised to hear myself as was my editor, to hear me wax eloquent on the new government and its plans and how we as Indians finally saw hope on the horizon. For a person reporting deals and scams for the past few years, this was a transformation, and the editors eagerly offered me numerous assignments. Digging a bit deeper for my stories, I sadly found the same bureaucratic mindset and stubbornness to change and a ministry making unofficial leaks, ensuring journos hear their point of view alone. Twitter and a news agency is now the government’s mouthpiece and they do not reply to queries! Dear lord- this administrative inertia is what I had not voted for! I had voted for a promised change in policies to push India ahead, a fresh mindset and a freedom of expression- within limits of course. All this was reinforced after I read a story on Rol...

Neelam Mathews July 2, 2012 A requirement for a military transport to replace 56  HS .748 twin turboprops operated by the Indian Air Force ( IAF ) has raised procedural problems for potential bidders following the release for  a Request for Information last December inviting OEMs to bid only if they could find private Indian partners (Aerospace Diary June 15). Candidate Indian companies are reluctant to commit to the project as the  few Indian manufacturers capable of involvement say they need a commitment for at least 200 aircraft from the Ministry of Defense. “We need a business case before we invest money in the project," they say. Aerospace Diary learns as the life of the 104 An-32s in the force runs out in 2024-25, the government could well be looking at adding those to the  56 it plans for the RFP once it is released. "This will solve the problem of the minimum numbers the private industry needs a commitment for, which is totally relevant given that the...

Neelam Mathews June 13, 2012 With a Request for Proposal awaited for  India ’s first private medium airlifter project for the Indian Air Force (IAF) to replace 56  Hawker Siddeley HS 748s,  the government is facing the reality that is private enterprise – running into losses just won’t do. India’s handful of manufacturers that have been in discussions for this project, say they need a commitment from the Ministry of Defense for at least 200 aircraft before they commit to getting involved. “We need a business case before we invest money in the project,” says one of the Indian manufacturers on condition of anonymity. The  Hawker Siddeley HS 748s were originally designed by the British firm Avro in the late 1950s. A Request for Information was released in December last year inviting foreign OEMs to bid for a medium transport aircraft  only if they could find private Indian partners who would build the aircraft in I...

Aerospace Daily PROGRAMS June 29, 2010 NEW DELHI — India will need more than 50 medium-sized transport planes in the medium-term, given its diverse border, homeland security and humanitarian needs, Alenia Aeronautica estimates. “India has a lot of hot borders,” says Paolo Girasole, head of Alenia parent company Finmeccanica in India, referring to airlifters required in the remote areas of eastern India occupied by local insurgents, the Naxals. The company has responded to a request for proposals for two medium transport planes, for which it has offered its C-27J Spartan for the Border Security Force. Trials were held last July in Leh and Bengaluru. A request for information is out from the Indian air force for 16 medium airlifters, Roberto Leva, director of Alenia Aeronautica in India, tells Aviation Week. The Philippines and Malaysia also have shown and interest in procuring the aircraft. The C-27J is an advanced derivative of Alenia’s G-222 (C-27A Spartan in U.S. service), w...