Aero India 2013: Industry gears up for Indian naval helicopter tender
Contenders for the Indian Navys naval multi-role helicopter (NMRH) programme expect an RfP to be released later this year.
At the Aero India exhibition on 7 February, representatives from various companies extolled the virtues of their respective platforms in meeting the naval requirement, which is expected to be for 75 to 120 aircraft.
George Barton, VP of business development for ship and aviation systems at Lockheed Martin, said the MH-60R would be offered to the Indian Navy in conjunction with the Sierra variant.
The Indian Navy will have its own requirement, but we feel that the Romeo and Sierra combination will meet all of these, Barton said.
Sikorsky will be the lead on the bid, as with the orders for previous MH-60Rs.
Barton explained that specific requests were made by the navy in order to modify the platform, and the offset will be a key part of the programme when it comes to fruition. Technology transfer will be included, although Barton could not go into more detail.
The PBL support of the aircraft is currently a significant part of MH-60 programmes, and Barton said that this would extend to the Indian requirement.
The Indian Government will want a direct sale, not an FMS, Barton added.
Last week the 150th MH-60R was delivered to the US Navy and a fifth generation computer upgrade is due to be delivered in the middle of this year.
Lutz Bertling, president and CEO of Eurocopter, told a media briefing during the show that the low number of military competitions gave greater importance to the Indian market.
Eurocopter is offering its EC-725 for the programme, and Bertling said: We are not shy in co-operating with other nations. Our helicopters know the Indian Sky.
With regards to declining budget rumours, he said that this is more likely to affect future requirements, not ones that are already active.
We have zero indication that this [budget decline] will affect on-going tenders, Bertling explained. If not you would have to take steps backwards and change RfPs.
The Indian Navy is also looking to procure 16 naval utility helicopters, for which it is expected to make a decision on soon. The competition is worth $1 billion and the finalists are NHIndustries' NH90 and the Sikorsky S-70B.
Aero India 2013: Industry gears up for Indian naval helicopter tender - News - Shephard
