Aerospace Diary

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...

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...