thestringshredder
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Armed forces’ bid to acquire helicopters hits hurdles
A double whammy has hit the armed forces once again. It will force the Army and IAF to fly their ageing and obsolete Cheetah and Chetak helicopters, deployed even in high-altitude areas like Siachen, for the foreseeable future.
For one, the long-delayed over Rs 3,000-crore procurement project for 197 “reconnaissance and surveillance” helicopters from abroad is in the danger of being junked for the second time. For another, the indigenous Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) project to develop 187 similar light utility helicopters has also been hit by a huge delay.
Even as the defence ministry gets all set to cancel the infamous Rs 3,546-crore contract for 12 VVIP helicopters, sources say “the future is extremely bleak” for the 197-helicopter project as well. “No final decision to scrap the 197-helicopter project has been taken till now. But it’s unlikely to materialize due to the pending CBI inquiry into the case,” said a source.
Unlike the VVIP helicopter contract inked with AgustaWestland in February 2010, the 197-helicopter project is still stuck in the selection process between the contenders Russian Kamov Ka-226T andEurocopter AS 550 C3 Fennec choppers.
Though AgustaWestland no longer figures in the sweepstakes, it has cast a long shadow over it. Apart from the main VVIP chopper case, the CBI is investigating the role played by an Indian Army brigadier who allegedly demanded money from AgustaWestland to swing the 197-helicopter deal its way as well, as earlier reported by TOI.
While this project is stuck in cold storage, the indigenous programme is also floundering way behind schedule. Sanctioned by the Cabinet committee on security (CCS) in February 2009, HAL was tasked to deliver the helicopter in 60 months.
But defence PSU has managed to “achieve only three of the nine milestones” laid for the project till now. “The detailed design and analysis phase is still to be completed. Moreover, French firm Turbomeca has only now been selected as the engine supplier. The first engine is slated for delivery only by June 2014,” said the source.
If the procurement process for the 197 helicopters is indeed scrapped, it will be the second time for the ill-fated project. It was almost finalized in December 2007 but then cancelled due to some irregularities. The fresh case began after the AK Antony-led defence acquisitions council granted it “acceptance of necessity” in April 2008.
Though AgustaWestland cleared the initial technical evaluation, it was later disqualified for fielding a different helicopter in the trials. Since then, the Kamov and Europcopter choppers have undergone three phases of trial in 2010 as well as examination by a special technical oversight committee, which submitted its report to MoD in June, 2012. It remains stuck there.
The Navy, already grappling with a huge shortage in anti-submarine warfare helicopters, also has its own case for the acquisition of 56 naval utility helicopters customized for surveillance, anti-terror, electronic intelligence gathering, search and rescue operations. But the $1 billion project, too, is yet to take off.
Link - http://idrw.org/?p=28991
A double whammy has hit the armed forces once again. It will force the Army and IAF to fly their ageing and obsolete Cheetah and Chetak helicopters, deployed even in high-altitude areas like Siachen, for the foreseeable future.
For one, the long-delayed over Rs 3,000-crore procurement project for 197 “reconnaissance and surveillance” helicopters from abroad is in the danger of being junked for the second time. For another, the indigenous Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) project to develop 187 similar light utility helicopters has also been hit by a huge delay.
Even as the defence ministry gets all set to cancel the infamous Rs 3,546-crore contract for 12 VVIP helicopters, sources say “the future is extremely bleak” for the 197-helicopter project as well. “No final decision to scrap the 197-helicopter project has been taken till now. But it’s unlikely to materialize due to the pending CBI inquiry into the case,” said a source.
Unlike the VVIP helicopter contract inked with AgustaWestland in February 2010, the 197-helicopter project is still stuck in the selection process between the contenders Russian Kamov Ka-226T andEurocopter AS 550 C3 Fennec choppers.
Though AgustaWestland no longer figures in the sweepstakes, it has cast a long shadow over it. Apart from the main VVIP chopper case, the CBI is investigating the role played by an Indian Army brigadier who allegedly demanded money from AgustaWestland to swing the 197-helicopter deal its way as well, as earlier reported by TOI.
While this project is stuck in cold storage, the indigenous programme is also floundering way behind schedule. Sanctioned by the Cabinet committee on security (CCS) in February 2009, HAL was tasked to deliver the helicopter in 60 months.
But defence PSU has managed to “achieve only three of the nine milestones” laid for the project till now. “The detailed design and analysis phase is still to be completed. Moreover, French firm Turbomeca has only now been selected as the engine supplier. The first engine is slated for delivery only by June 2014,” said the source.
If the procurement process for the 197 helicopters is indeed scrapped, it will be the second time for the ill-fated project. It was almost finalized in December 2007 but then cancelled due to some irregularities. The fresh case began after the AK Antony-led defence acquisitions council granted it “acceptance of necessity” in April 2008.
Though AgustaWestland cleared the initial technical evaluation, it was later disqualified for fielding a different helicopter in the trials. Since then, the Kamov and Europcopter choppers have undergone three phases of trial in 2010 as well as examination by a special technical oversight committee, which submitted its report to MoD in June, 2012. It remains stuck there.
The Navy, already grappling with a huge shortage in anti-submarine warfare helicopters, also has its own case for the acquisition of 56 naval utility helicopters customized for surveillance, anti-terror, electronic intelligence gathering, search and rescue operations. But the $1 billion project, too, is yet to take off.
Link - http://idrw.org/?p=28991
