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NEW DELHI — Much against the wishes of the Indian Air Force (IAF), the Defence Ministry has decided that only state-owned monopoly Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) will meet the service's future basic trainer requirements through its HTT-40 trainer, which is still under development.
However, to meet the Air Force's immediate needs, until the homemade HTT-40 is inducted, MoD has ordered another 38 Swiss-made Pilatus PC-7 Mark-IIs to top the 75 ordered by the outgoing government in 2012.
The Air Force wanted to buy only the Pilatus and put the HTT-40 project on hold, said an Air Force official.
The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), the top weapon purchasing body in the MoD, ordered 38 additional Pilatus trainers at its Feb. 28 meeting at a cost of $250 million by exercising the additional purchase clause tied to the original order of 75 trainers in 2012. But the service's remaining trainer needs will be met through the HTT-40, the DAC ruled.
"Bureaucrats in MoD, while taking the decision to depend wholly on HAL's HTT-40 basic trainer, overlooked the recommendations of the actual user — the IAF — which had strongly recommended in 2013 to put on hold the homemade HTT-40 trainer project and instead procure 106 additional Pilatus trainers to meet the training needs of the IAF," said a retired Air Force official.
"HAL should have a competitor and not be overprotected despite their poor record," he said.
A MoD official said the decision to procure the HTT-40 for basic trainer needs in addition to the Pilatus was made to boost a homemade aircraft that he claimed would be cheaper than Pilatus in the long run because it would be less costly to maintain and upgrade.
In 2013, the Air Force recommended the MoD procure only Pilatus basic trainers because it was cheaper to buy and available immediately, while the HTT-40 trainer is unlikely to be inducted before 2017-18.
The Air Force also argued Pilatus would be easier to operate and with only one basic trainer it would simplify logistic and maintenance needs.
The retired Air Force official said, "the latest decision to promote state-owned defense companies, at any cost, is a climb down in expectations from the current Narendra Modi government as military officers were hoping that their voice would be heard more than the bureaucrats in weapons procurement."
"The homemade light combat aircraft by HAL is delayed by over 15 years, and we are not sure if the ongoing discussions on the medium multirole combat aircraft in which Rafale of France is the selected aircraft will ever be concluded because of differences between Dassault Aviation and HAL," said another IAF official.
No HAL official would comment on the status of the HTT-40 trainer under development .
"The IAF now fears that it will be forced to wait for HAL's intermediate jet trainer [IJT], which is under development since 1997 with no date fixed for final operational clearance," the second Air Force official said.
After the Air Force insisted not to depend on HAL's delayed IJT project, the MoD in mid-2014 floated a global request for information to procure intermediate jet trainers. Expressions of interest were sent to Russia's Yakovlev; Italy's Alenia Aermacchi; Korea Aerospace Industries of South Korea, Boeing, Northrop Grumman and Beechcraft of the US; and Saab of Sweden.
"The latest decision of MoD to force a HAL-made trainer on IAF indicates that the [request] to procure IJTs from overseas on a technology-transfer basis will never be turned into a formal tender and IAF will have to wait only for the HAL-made IJT Sitara," said Bhim Singh, retired IAF Wing Commander.
No MoD official would comment on the fate of the request for information.
Email: [email protected]
HAL To Fulfill Future Indian AF Training Needs
However, to meet the Air Force's immediate needs, until the homemade HTT-40 is inducted, MoD has ordered another 38 Swiss-made Pilatus PC-7 Mark-IIs to top the 75 ordered by the outgoing government in 2012.
The Air Force wanted to buy only the Pilatus and put the HTT-40 project on hold, said an Air Force official.
The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), the top weapon purchasing body in the MoD, ordered 38 additional Pilatus trainers at its Feb. 28 meeting at a cost of $250 million by exercising the additional purchase clause tied to the original order of 75 trainers in 2012. But the service's remaining trainer needs will be met through the HTT-40, the DAC ruled.
"Bureaucrats in MoD, while taking the decision to depend wholly on HAL's HTT-40 basic trainer, overlooked the recommendations of the actual user — the IAF — which had strongly recommended in 2013 to put on hold the homemade HTT-40 trainer project and instead procure 106 additional Pilatus trainers to meet the training needs of the IAF," said a retired Air Force official.
"HAL should have a competitor and not be overprotected despite their poor record," he said.
A MoD official said the decision to procure the HTT-40 for basic trainer needs in addition to the Pilatus was made to boost a homemade aircraft that he claimed would be cheaper than Pilatus in the long run because it would be less costly to maintain and upgrade.
In 2013, the Air Force recommended the MoD procure only Pilatus basic trainers because it was cheaper to buy and available immediately, while the HTT-40 trainer is unlikely to be inducted before 2017-18.
The Air Force also argued Pilatus would be easier to operate and with only one basic trainer it would simplify logistic and maintenance needs.
The retired Air Force official said, "the latest decision to promote state-owned defense companies, at any cost, is a climb down in expectations from the current Narendra Modi government as military officers were hoping that their voice would be heard more than the bureaucrats in weapons procurement."
"The homemade light combat aircraft by HAL is delayed by over 15 years, and we are not sure if the ongoing discussions on the medium multirole combat aircraft in which Rafale of France is the selected aircraft will ever be concluded because of differences between Dassault Aviation and HAL," said another IAF official.
No HAL official would comment on the status of the HTT-40 trainer under development .
"The IAF now fears that it will be forced to wait for HAL's intermediate jet trainer [IJT], which is under development since 1997 with no date fixed for final operational clearance," the second Air Force official said.
After the Air Force insisted not to depend on HAL's delayed IJT project, the MoD in mid-2014 floated a global request for information to procure intermediate jet trainers. Expressions of interest were sent to Russia's Yakovlev; Italy's Alenia Aermacchi; Korea Aerospace Industries of South Korea, Boeing, Northrop Grumman and Beechcraft of the US; and Saab of Sweden.
"The latest decision of MoD to force a HAL-made trainer on IAF indicates that the [request] to procure IJTs from overseas on a technology-transfer basis will never be turned into a formal tender and IAF will have to wait only for the HAL-made IJT Sitara," said Bhim Singh, retired IAF Wing Commander.
No MoD official would comment on the fate of the request for information.
Email: [email protected]
HAL To Fulfill Future Indian AF Training Needs
