Aerospace Diary

Neelam Mathews Jan 7, 2014 While many have been skeptical about the MMRCA contract - not without reason- AerospaceDiary is hearing there is a CCS today to view the contract/project. This could not be confirmed from an official source. Should this come through, India's defense industry, hopefully, will get the much needed push- given that all issues related to the DPP are cleared with sane thinking. Hopefully vested interests will not stall the project. We are hearing the MMRCA is quoted in international circles as one of the best evaluations done on a military project.

AIN DEFENSE PERSPECTIVE  »  JULY 19, 2013 by    NEELAM MATHEWS Indian commerce minister Anand Sharma (Photo: Ministry of Commerce, India) July 19, 2013, 11:45 AM Indian commerce minister Anand Sharma announced the raising of the country’s cap on foreign direct investment ( FDI ) in 13 important industrial sectors, including defense. But while the defense industry was expecting the cap to be raised to 49 percent from the present 26 percent, Sharma said that defense proposals for more than 26 percent will be permitted only for state-of-the art technology for which, the Cabinet Committee on Security ( CCS ), a body that decides on matters of national security, will consider any proposals “on a case-by-case basis.” Because “state-of-the-art” products were not defined, it falls to the Ministry of Defense to make the decision, said Sharma. “So what’s new? This is a classic case of pulling wool over eyes to show India has made ...

Neelam Mathews July 16, 2013 Talk of pulling over the eyes. Minister of  Commerce has announced 'state-of-the art' defense technology products asking for over 26% FDI would need clearance from CCS. Asked to define 'state of the art', the reporter was told to check with MoD. As one official jokingly told Aerospace Diary- "Now the big Indian fish will rejoice and the small ones will mourn." Wonder what the OEMs are thinking! So what has really changed? A case-to-case basis for FDI in defense upto 49% was already there.And we know how many OEMs learnt the hard way that it wasn't an easy hurdle to overcome. Is this a case of the defense minister getting his way and a face saving for the rest? So, are we back to square one?

Neelam Mathews July 14, 2011 While the star news of the day was the upgradation of 51 Mirages, the CCS, in a generous mode, will soon clear Armored Recovery Vehicles to BEML and BMS to BEL, AerospaceDiary learns. Another breaking news is an RFP to be released for Loitering Missiles. The Indian Army is believed to be interested in procuring unspecified numbers of a new medium range Loitering Missile systems for which a Request for Information to companies in Israel (IAI Malat), France (MBDA) and the US (Raytheon) was sent out. The RFI indicates the Army is interested in a system with capabilities that include top-attack and the ability to abort an attack after target lock (and re-designate). The Army wants a system where the launcher can be mounted on a Tatra truck.  India is said to be looking at a product like the Harpy 2 (also known as 'Harop') developed by Israel Aerospace Industries, as part of a procurement program valued over $1 billion. Harop is a derivative of t...

Longer story follows! Neelam Mathews July 13 Laying to rest speculation that the upgradation of the 51 (to reconfirm figure) of  Mirage 2000- to Mirage 2005, was being considered for offsets should Dassault's Rafale win the MMRCA, the Cabinet Committee on Security, cleared the upgradation today. This will open up opportunities for Indian companies like Samtel to offer an Indian content for the approximately $2.4 billion project. Upgrades include night vision goggle compatible glass cockpit, advanced navigational systems, advanced multi-mode multi-layered radar, fully integrated electronic warfare suite and advanced beyond visual range (BVR) capability. The new weapons include 450 MICA interception and aerial combat missiles.

Neelam Mathews July 5, 2011 Time- 5.00PM IST India and the U.S have come much closer to signing the Executive Agreement of the  Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement (BASA), with the Cabinet Committee of Security having cleared it last week. The next step is the implementation procedure for airworthiness agreement, which the FAA has to set the time frame for. The final signing is expected in summer, Aerospace Diary learns from a government official. “BASA will be a great step forward in the aerospace industry. It will ensure mutual acceptance of aeronautical products and parts developed in either country,” Nasim Zaidi, secretary Ministry of civil aviation had said a few months ago. An initial step was FAA’s technical assessment report—now a completed document—which established the competency of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and the existence of an aircraft certification system able to produce results equivalent to the U.S. system. Following this, the FAA recommen...

Neelam Mathews June 6, 2011 India ’s high powered body- the Cabinet Committee on Security- chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, has given the go-ahead for the purchase of 10 Boeing C-17 strategic heavy-lifters at an estimated cost of $4.1 billion from the U.S. The order comes with a 30% offsets clause worth $1.2 billion. It is not clear when the long-pending 50 Mirage-2000 upgrades will be cleared by the CCS. Industry analysts have conjectured it might be tied to the MMRCA deal should the finalist French Rafale be given the contract. However, it is too early to tell. The C-17 heavy lift deal will be music to the ears of the U.S that recently lost its two contenders to the Europeans for the over $10billion MMRCA bid finalists. The CCS has also cleared six additional C-17 aircraft if the IAF decides to exercise its options. India has not as yet signed the Communication Interoperability and Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMoA), which the US law requires if transfer of h...

Neelam Mathews May 31, 2011 Time:4:55pm IST After many false alarms, the clearance for Boeing's C-17s is on the agenda of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) being held on June 1. Senior heads including ministers of Finance, Defense and Home Affairs expected to attend the CCS, are said to be in town. Cleared by the U.S for $5.8billion, the MoD order for ten C-17s is for $4.2 billion. It comes with a 30% offsets clause worth $1.2 billion. Boeing is believed to be supplying an air tunnel and an engine testing facility for extreme environments valued at ½ billion U.S dollars as part of the offsets, AerospaceDiary learns. The engine testing facility will be used for the indigenous Kaveri engine presently tested in Russia. The IAF is also planning to place orders for additional aircraft. Word has it that Boeing will get an additional order for at least five more in the short term. Recently the United Arab Emirates Air Force and Air Defense received a brand new C-17 Globem...