Aerospace Diary

MIL-LOG 28th May 2015 - 15:02 by  Neelam Mathews  in Delhi  India’s Defence Acquisition Council has approved the Indian Air Force bid for the supply and production of 56  C295  transport aircraft. The new aircraft will replace its ageing Avro 748Ms and comes as a piece of good news for Airbus Defence and Security which was hit by the  crash of an A400M  aircraft on 9 May causing the deaths of four crew. The clearance for the $2.4 billion project comes on the heels of the visit of Spanish Minister of Defence to India in March, who had offered to take the project on a government-to- government level. The sole bidder consortium comprises Tata Advanced Systems (TASL) as the Indian Production Agency in partnership with Airbus DS.  Within two years of a contract signing, up to 16 flyaway aircraft......read more on ShephardMedia

ROTORHUB 14th May 2015 - 16:22 by  Neelam Mathews  in Delhi  India has opted for the Kamov  Ka-226T  for its long-running requirement for a reconnaissance helicopter, in an indication the Modi government is doing all it can to keep its geo-political relations intact. Following a meeting of the Defence Acquisition Committee (DAC) chaired by Minister of Defence Manohar Parrikar on 13 May, approval has been granted for the licensed-production of the Turbomeca Arrius 2G1-powered Ka-226T for the Army Aviation Corp and Indian Air Force.  In two previous cancelled bids  the Ka-226T  was a competitor for the reconnaissance/ surveillance helicopter requirement against the  Airbus Helicopters AS550 C3 . The project has ......xport .......more on Shephard media

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 ...

LAND WARFARE 05th September 2014 - 9:41 by  Neelam Mathews  in Delhi After deciding to spend $135 million on 40  Catapult artillery  systems and $1.1 billion on 118 Arjun MkII MBTs, the Indian Army still has further to go. A much-awaited decision on anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs) for which the Israeli Spike missile and Raytheon’s Javelin are contenders, was deferred. Even as the Indian Army prepares to raise over 90,000 new Mountain Strike Corps along the 4,000 km border with China by 2019, the fate of the ultra-light howitzers also continues to hang in the air.......Read more on Shephard Media (subscription free for two weeks)

ROTORHUB 29th August 2014 - 18:14 by  Neelam Mathews  in New Delhi India has cleared the offsets proposal for 22 Boeing AH-64E Apache attack and 15 CH-47F Chinook heavy helicopters for the Indian Air Force.  The Defence Acquisitions Council, (DAC), headed by the defence minister, announced the move on August 29. The approval comes on the heels of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled to visit to the US on September 30.  It takes both deals closer to completion with clearances to be made by the finance ministry, which shares its minister with defence, and by the Cabinet Committee of Security. Meanwhile, the long pending, oft re-tendered, 197 Indian Army/Air Force Reconnaissance Surveillance Helicopter (RSH) bid for the Indian Army and Air Force, has been officially scrapped, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Boeing, last year, signed a MoU with Bangalore-based ......................................

Neelam Mathews May 4, 2013 Neelam Mathews May 4, 2013 With approval given by the defense procurement apex body, Defense Acquisition Council (DAC), the Indian Air Force is set to release a (repeat) Request for Proposal for nine aircraft along with systems for airborne Signals Intelligence (SIGINT), Communications Jamming (COMJAM), ground survey and target towing within a month.  An RFP released four years ago shortlisted Israel Aircraft Industries with an 8-seater G-200 and Embraer 145, both offering the Elta Airborne Integrated Signal Intelligence System (AISIS). Delays in the offset policy resulted in price escalation by the OEM, which was not accepted by the ministry of defense, leading to cancellation of the bid. “Now five years later, the cost will be much higher given the changed specs and also a highly depreciated rupee,” a vendor says. The new RFP requires a larger aircraft to provide for ten seating passengers in a cabin. IAI, if it participates, wi...

Posted by- Neelam Mathews April 20, 2013 PRESS RELEASE With the twin objective of infusing greater efficiency in the procurement process and strengthening the defence manufacturing base in the country, the Defense Acquisition Council, the apex decision making body of the MoD, took a series of decisions today,  including amendments to Defense Procurement Procedure (DPP). The Defense Minister AK Antony, who chaired the Council meeting, said the only way forward for the country is rapid indigenization of defence products, with both the public and the private sectors playing  pivotal roles in this endeavour. Antony said the government will make all efforts to create genuine level playing field for Indian manufacturing industries vis-à-vis Global Players. Following are the highlights of the amendments to the DPP-2011: 1.    Prioritisation of Various Categories for Capital Acquisitions under Defense Procurement Procedure Preference for indigenous pro...

Neelam Mathews Feb 12, 2013 The Acceptance of Necessity (AON), for Project 75-I  is due to expire for the second time (next month). However, there is hope on hand as the  Defense Acquisition Committee (DAC) meets tomorrow. The navy, we hear, is all set to issue a Request for Proposal for a new line of six submarines with AIP (Air Independent Propulsion) capability.  The new Project 75-I submarines are estimated at around $10 billion. At present, six new Scorpenes under Project 75 are being built for more than $5 billion (Rs 23,562 crore) by the state-run Mazagon Dock Ltd. (MDL) under licence from French DCNS .

Neelam Mathews Feb 24, 2012 The discussion held yesterday (Feb 23) on ratifying the Offsets policy remained “inconclusive,” Aerospace Diary learns. A meeting of the Defense Acquisition Council chaired by Defense Minister A.K. Antony looked at proposals to amend the offsets policy, part of the DPP 2011. The industry was hoping certain issues would be cleared including transfer of technology as offsets; multipliers and offsets in commercial shipbuilding. With a central implementing body required, the DAC was to look at   the Defense Offset Facilitation Agency (DOFA) as the empowering body for offsets.

Neelam Mathews Oct 7, 2011 Time- 1:39pm IST The DAC that is to meet this afternoon, has a busy agenda, Aerospace Diary learns. Once the minutes of the last DAC, requested by the Defense Minister are circulated this afternoon, a request for FMS to the U.S government for the Honeywell engine for the Jaguar (presently being retrofitted) is expected to be released within a month. Defense minister A.K Antony had asked to ensure that DRDO confirmed (in writing) the timeline for the engine was too short to develop it and the IAF confirm it was required ASAP. The replacement of 56 Avros is on the table too. The note presented says the bid will have 16 in the 'Buy' category and 40 'Buy and Make'. The project is valued at Rs 14,586 crores.  Interestingly, there is no mention in the agenda that the project will be only addressed to the private sector, which might be a dampener to the recent private sector consortia that was in dialogue with the IAF. An official close to the s...