Aerospace Diary

Please credit aerospacediary Neelam Mathews Apr 29, 2016 Even as global firms battle to gain attention of India for the second line of fighters, Dirk Hoke  CEO of Airbus Defence and Space (DS) made his company's focus clear by making a visit to Delhi this week to make an offer to design, develop, manufacture and export the Advanced Medium Combat  Aircraft (AMCA).  The AMCA offer aerospacediary learns, comes with a rider: Airbus will only be associated with the project in a 50:50 joint venture since decisions tend to get overridden by Indian counterparts. Discussions are likely to get stuck if HAL insists on Airbus reimbursing it for the cost of the LCA development. In which case, Airbus is likely to demand cost of transfer of technology. Another future Make in India project sunk before floated!? Hoke took over his position from April 1 this year, and was making no bones in the aggressive role the company wants to play. Airbus is believed to have focusse...

by  Chris Pocock  and Neelam Mathews  - April 15, 2015, 4:45 PM This model of the Rafale in Indian Air Force markings was displayed at the last Aero-India show. (Photo: Neelam Mathews) The new Indian government’s decision ‘in principle’ to  buy 36 Rafale combat aircraft  direct from the Dassault production line in France, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 10, appears to spell the end of the medium multi-role combat aircraft ( MMRCA ) acquisition process. Speaking on Indian television two days later, defense minister Manohar Parrikar acknowledged that the protracted delay in closing the  MMRCA  deal, caused largely by difficulty in agreeing terms and conditions for licensed production of the Rafale in India, had not served India well. Under the  MMRCA  plan, the Indian Air Force ( IAF ) would have received its first squadron of 18 Rafales from France, 12 single- and six twin-seaters. A further 108 woul...