Aerospace Diary

by  Neelam Mathews  -  November 29, 2017, 8:06 AM The S-70B Seahawk could still be India’s interim multi-role helicopter. After years of procrastination over selecting a new naval multi-role helicopter (MRH), the Indian Ministry of Defence may still make an interim purchase of up to 24 Sikorsky S-70B Seahawkss. This follows repeated appeals by the Indian Navy to hasten the program, given the state of its aging and depleted Sea King fleet and its ambitions to become a "Blue Water Navy." India recently issued a new request for information (RFI) for 123 MRHs to perform anti-submarine warfare (ASW), anti-surface warfare (ASuW), electronic intelligence-gathering, and search and rescue (SAR). These helicopters would be procured and produced according to Delhi’s "Make in India" policy. However, “The Navy wants these [24 S-70Bs] yesterday,” a senior official told  AIN . The performance of the Seahawk has been accepted by the service, fol...

Neelam Mathews Oct 25, 2011 The second indigenous ‘Anti Submarine Warfare’ (ASW) corvette ‘Kadmatt’ - named after an island in Lakshwadeep  - built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE), was launched today. It is part of Indian Navy’s modernization quest under ‘Project-28’. GRSE is slated to launch four ASW corvettes for the Indian Navy each costing nearly Rs. 1,700 crores. Kamorta, the first in the series, is expected to be delivered to the Indian Navy in June 2012 and Kadmatt in March 2013. The keel of the third ASW corvette meanwhile was laid in August 2010. The remaining two ASW corvettes scheduled to float out next from GRSE yards are Kiltan and Kavaratti, says MoD  Stating the Indian Navy and Coast Guard have huge requirement of ships to be met without any time and cost overruns, state minister of defense Pallam Raju emphasized that timely delivery of ‘quality ships’ was the need of the hour. “Modern shipbuilding technology and tools must be adopted t...