IAF drops Russia from $1 bn deal

[Skeptic]

IAF drops Russia from $1 bn deal

Russia is set to lose a billion dollar (Rs 48,000 crore) defence deal for midair refuellers, signalling a break in its over 50-year-old monopoly as India’s preferred military supplier.

The former communist giant has clearly lost favour with the Indian military, as the air force has decided not to field any more Russian Ilyushin-78 refuellers to keep fighter jets airborne for considerably longer periods by tanking them up during flight.

After operating Il-78 tankers for almost six years, the Indian Air Force has said the Russian platform does not meet its requirements and it wants to deploy the Airbus A330 multi-role tanker transport (MRTT) offered by European aerospace corporation EADS.

The Il-78 and Airbus 330 MRTT were competing for the $1 billion global tender floated three years ago by the defence ministry for six midair refuellers to extend the operating radiuses of Indian fighter jets.

In an exclusive interview to HT, IAF chief Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major said, “We have finished all evaluations and selected the A330 MRTT. The deal will come up for final approval by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) very soon. The Russian platform did not meet certain requirements.” The A330 MRTT is a military derivative of the Airbus A330 airliner.

Cracks in the India-Russia defence relationship have existed for some time now. Some of the irritants include Russia seeking mid-course price revisions in contracts for Sukhoi-30 fighters and aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov, a problem of steady supply of spares, poor vendor support after the disintegration of the Soviet Union and transfer of technology issues.

The air chief, who retires on May 31 on turning 62, said, “After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, Russia has changed the whole pattern of doing defence business. Now we are faced with issues concerning spares, vendor support and built-in delays in the structure of their centralised military corporations.”

Two years ago, Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta had publicly said that India needed to take a relook at its military relationship with Russia, much to the government’s discomfort. The armed forces maintain that Russian equipment comes cheap but entails huge maintenance costs.

The A330 MRTT has won several tanker competitions with contracts signed by the governments of United Kingdom, Australia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The first A330 MRTT would be delivered to the IAF within three years of signing of the deal while the remaining five would be inducted 15 months after that.

 

[BaburCM]

Hmmm, good news. Seems like that the India-Russia relation isn't all that cosy after all.

Cracks in the India-Russia defence relationship have existed for some time now. Some of the irritants include Russia seeking mid-course price revisions in contracts for Sukhoi-30 fighters and aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov, a problem of steady supply of spares, poor vendor support after the disintegration of the Soviet Union and transfer of technology issues.

Wow, that's a little more than cracks in the relationship if you ask me. That's a quite lengthy list of complaints right there...

 

[gubbi]

IAF drops Russia from $1 bn deal

Russia is set to lose a billion dollar (Rs 48,000 crore) defence deal for midair refuellers, signalling a break in its over 50-year-old monopoly as India’s preferred military supplier.

The former communist giant has clearly lost favour with the Indian military, as the air force has decided not to field any more Russian Ilyushin-78 refuellers to keep fighter jets airborne for considerably longer periods by tanking them up during flight.

After operating Il-78 tankers for almost six years, the Indian Air Force has said the Russian platform does not meet its requirements and it wants to deploy the Airbus A330 multi-role tanker transport (MRTT) offered by European aerospace corporation EADS.

The Il-78 and Airbus 330 MRTT were competing for the $1 billion global tender floated three years ago by the defence ministry for six midair refuellers to extend the operating radiuses of Indian fighter jets.

In an exclusive interview to HT, IAF chief Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major said, “We have finished all evaluations and selected the A330 MRTT. The deal will come up for final approval by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) very soon. The Russian platform did not meet certain requirements.” The A330 MRTT is a military derivative of the Airbus A330 airliner.

Cracks in the India-Russia defence relationship have existed for some time now. Some of the irritants include Russia seeking mid-course price revisions in contracts for Sukhoi-30 fighters and aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov, a problem of steady supply of spares, poor vendor support after the disintegration of the Soviet Union and transfer of technology issues.

The air chief, who retires on May 31 on turning 62, said, “After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, Russia has changed the whole pattern of doing defence business. Now we are faced with issues concerning spares, vendor support and built-in delays in the structure of their centralised military corporations.”

Two years ago, Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta had publicly said that India needed to take a relook at its military relationship with Russia, much to the government’s discomfort. The armed forces maintain that Russian equipment comes cheap but entails huge maintenance costs.

The A330 MRTT has won several tanker competitions with contracts signed by the governments of United Kingdom, Australia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The first A330 MRTT would be delivered to the IAF within three years of signing of the deal while the remaining five would be inducted 15 months after that.

Can you post link/source?

 

[CanadianPad]

Excellent choice but it is also a bit expensive.
USAF also choose it but later canceled cause of Boeing's protest.
Wonder how much are IL-78 tankers?
A330 are 160 Million per.

 

[Skeptic]

Hmmm, good news. Seems like that the India-Russia relation isn't all that cosy after all.

Cracks in the India-Russia defence relationship have existed for some time now. Some of the irritants include Russia seeking mid-course price revisions in contracts for Sukhoi-30 fighters and aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov, a problem of steady supply of spares, poor vendor support after the disintegration of the Soviet Union and transfer of technology issues.

Wow, that's a little more than cracks in the relationship if you ask me. That's a quite lengthy list of complaints right there...

Admiral Gorshkov is one of the bigget issues. The cost has been renegotiated several times, excuses have been made over and over again and delays have left everyone gaping.

India has a open market for its need and we are anyways paying the regular market price, so open to wider market with better service and similar products. Simple as that.

Can you post link/source?

From Hindustan Times. Link is in the post. Title is hyper-linked.

 

[fatman17]

Admiral Gorshkov is one of the bigget issues. The cost has been renegotiated several times, excuses have been made over and over again and delays have left everyone gaping.

India has a open market for its need and we are anyways paying the regular market price, so open to wider market with better service and similar products. Simple as that.



From Hindustan Times. Link is in the post. Title is hyper-linked.

agree and just a few days ago, russia stated that their defence production line is full and they are not entertaining any new orders - very surprising - sounds like logistic problems

if pak forum members think this is a opening for pak - dont bet your house on it just yet!

 

[Rajkumar]

IAF drops Russia from $1 bn deal

Russia is set to lose a billion dollar (Rs 48,000 crore) defence deal for midair refuellers, signalling a break in its over 50-year-old monopoly as India’s preferred military supplier.

The former communist giant has clearly lost favour with the Indian military, as the air force has decided not to field any more Russian Ilyushin-78 refuellers to keep fighter jets airborne for considerably longer periods by tanking them up during flight.

After operating Il-78 tankers for almost six years, the Indian Air Force has said the Russian platform does not meet its requirements and it wants to deploy the Airbus A330 multi-role tanker transport (MRTT) offered by European aerospace corporation EADS.

The Il-78 and Airbus 330 MRTT were competing for the $1 billion global tender floated three years ago by the defence ministry for six midair refuellers to extend the operating radiuses of Indian fighter jets.

In an exclusive interview to HT, IAF chief Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major said, “We have finished all evaluations and selected the A330 MRTT. The deal will come up for final approval by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) very soon. The Russian platform did not meet certain requirements.” The A330 MRTT is a military derivative of the Airbus A330 airliner.

Cracks in the India-Russia defence relationship have existed for some time now. Some of the irritants include Russia seeking mid-course price revisions in contracts for Sukhoi-30 fighters and aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov, a problem of steady supply of spares, poor vendor support after the disintegration of the Soviet Union and transfer of technology issues.

The air chief, who retires on May 31 on turning 62, said, “After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, Russia has changed the whole pattern of doing defence business. Now we are faced with issues concerning spares, vendor support and built-in delays in the structure of their centralised military corporations.”

Two years ago, Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta had publicly said that India needed to take a relook at its military relationship with Russia, much to the government’s discomfort. The armed forces maintain that Russian equipment comes cheap but entails huge maintenance costs.

The A330 MRTT has won several tanker competitions with contracts signed by the governments of United Kingdom, Australia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The first A330 MRTT would be delivered to the IAF within three years of signing of the deal while the remaining five would be inducted 15 months after that.

dude this is low quality article because first line is incorrect. if its 1 bil dollar dear then it should be RS 4800 cr not rs 48000 cr which is equal to 10 bil.

 

[maverick2009]

Its great news For india.

India now has the financial muscle and political clout to buy weapons from any source.

Israel USA & Europe will take a huge slice of the massive indian Arms market.

But even these people will have to learn to adjust to indian rules/ DEMANDS on joint development and % TOT agreements.

This will teach the Russians to mess about with a big player like india. ie Gorskhov and price hikes etc

MRCA will go to the USA guranteed ????? but which one

F16 IN

or F18IN

 

[Muradk]

Now is the perfect time for Zardari to go and Kiss Russians As- , Take advantage of this thing and get them to sign a contract that we can get as many J-11 with there engines without a hitch. Right now they are hurting so we should capitalize on that.

 

[blain2]

Not sure if Pakistanis should be that happy about cracks in India-Russia defence relations. Keep in mind that the reason there are cracks is because of unprofessional and shitty contractual/support issues on the Russian side. Aside from India, another recent issue was the Algerian complaints and return of the Fulcrum SMTs.

If you ask me, Russians have a pretty crappy track record of upholding contracts and delivering on time. On top of that if they sell to Pakistan, we would have to listen to their regional leadership BS.

If Russians were willing to sell *everything* to Pakistan and under strict deadlines and fulfillment of contracts on time then it would be somewhat of a good thing, however the track record with others is pretty bad.

 

[qsaark]

Now is the perfect time for Zardari to go and Kiss Russians As- , Take advantage of this thing and get then to sign a contract that we can get as many J-11 with there engines without a hitch. Right now they are hurting so we should capitalize on that.

Yes but where is the money? Even for taking advantage of 'this thing', which I am not sure is how real, we need money and lots of it.

 

[Ratus Ratus]

Now is the perfect time for Zardari to go and Kiss Russians As- , Take advantage of this thing and get then to sign a contract that we can get as many J-11 with there engines without a hitch. Right now they are hurting so we should capitalize on that.

For what is worth, my underlying feeling is that Russia is not yet ready to start doing big deals with Pakistan vs india.
The pakistan/China interaction would or could be a factor in this.

There are other matters that should be seriously considered before jumping in bed with Russia.

As blain2 points out:

Not sure if Pakistanis should be that happy about cracks in India-Russia defence relations. Keep in mind that the reason there are cracks is because of unprofessional and shitty contractual/support issues on the Russian side. Aside from India, another recent issue was the Algerian complaints and return of the Fulcrum SMTs.

If you ask me, Russians have a pretty crappy track record of upholding contracts and delivering on time. On top of that if they sell to Pakistan, we would have to listen to their regional leadership BS.

If Russians were willing to sell *everything* to Pakistan and under strict deadlines and fulfillment of contracts on time then it would be somewhat of a good thing, however the track record with others is pretty bad.

Contract fulfillment and follow on support are and will be issues for many years with Russia.
Not something one needs when reliability of service is critical.

The idea is interesting but possibly has areas of deep concern.

 

[Patriot]

Pakistan should never deal directly with Russia.

 

[FulcrumD]

The title of this thread should have been"IAF chooses AB-330 MRTT "the negative title was perhaps given by a lifafa journo on the payrole of somebody.IAF has only chosen a better platform,not buying Russian does'nt mean dropping their products,after all we don't have an exclusive contract with them.

 

[sob]

Russians have become quite mercenary about the arms deals. Gone are the days of soft loans and Rupee purchases. They now want US Dollars and that too upfront.