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8ak - Indian Defence News
10 May 2010 8ak: The Indian Air Force (IAF) hopes to kick-start its $238-million (rumoured amount of lowest bidder) Modernisation of Airfield Infrastructure (MAFI) project, which envisages upgrading 30 airfields, in the first phase, over the next few weeks. A senior IAF official told 8ak the upgrade is expected to start by mid-June/July. The IAF is carrying out the upgrade with the aim of making all the airbases in the country capable of handling all kinds of aircrafts operated by the IAF at all times. Adding further, the official said, As per the plan, first phase of project was supposed to end by 2012, but once the contract is signed the IAF will leave no room for delay and push for an early completion of Phase-I.
The project has been dogged with controversy, the last of which was when in a rare move, Selex Sistemi Integrati, a Finmeccanica company sued the Ministry of Defence for alleged violations of procedures. Amongst other things it stated that a competitor was providing untested equipment. An industry source said (*rumour) that the real reason was that Tata had tied up with Selex but dropped them in favour of Raytheon at the final stages (rumour*). Another analyst had expressed surprise at a foreign company suing the MoD.
The project when completed will provide the airfields with the latest equipment and aids such as Tactical Air Navigation, Integrated Landing Systems, upgraded communication systems, airfield approach aid systems, Digital Measuring Systems, VHF Omni Range, Range Navigation aids and modern meteorological facilities. This will allow India to maximise the use of advanced communication/landing/tactical systems on the slew of modern transport and fighter aircraft it is buying. Incidentally, 16 of the airports are near the border with China.
The Request for Proposal (RFP) for airfield upgradation was issued in 2007 and sent to various global players which include US defence major Raytheon bidding jointly with Tata Power, French Siemens and Thales and Italian consortium Finmeccanica. The first airfield to be upgraded in the first phase would be the IAF airbase at Hindon, as the first C-130J military transport aircraft is expected to arrive at this base some time in December this year.
In the first phase of modernising 30 airfields will be completed in 42 months. The Centre has made a provisional allocation of Rs.180 crore for the project in the 2009-10 budget, and the sum will be released after the contract is signed. Phase II of the project, under which 20 airfields would be upgraded, will start after the completion of Phase-I.
10 May 2010 8ak: The Indian Air Force (IAF) hopes to kick-start its $238-million (rumoured amount of lowest bidder) Modernisation of Airfield Infrastructure (MAFI) project, which envisages upgrading 30 airfields, in the first phase, over the next few weeks. A senior IAF official told 8ak the upgrade is expected to start by mid-June/July. The IAF is carrying out the upgrade with the aim of making all the airbases in the country capable of handling all kinds of aircrafts operated by the IAF at all times. Adding further, the official said, As per the plan, first phase of project was supposed to end by 2012, but once the contract is signed the IAF will leave no room for delay and push for an early completion of Phase-I.
The project has been dogged with controversy, the last of which was when in a rare move, Selex Sistemi Integrati, a Finmeccanica company sued the Ministry of Defence for alleged violations of procedures. Amongst other things it stated that a competitor was providing untested equipment. An industry source said (*rumour) that the real reason was that Tata had tied up with Selex but dropped them in favour of Raytheon at the final stages (rumour*). Another analyst had expressed surprise at a foreign company suing the MoD.
The project when completed will provide the airfields with the latest equipment and aids such as Tactical Air Navigation, Integrated Landing Systems, upgraded communication systems, airfield approach aid systems, Digital Measuring Systems, VHF Omni Range, Range Navigation aids and modern meteorological facilities. This will allow India to maximise the use of advanced communication/landing/tactical systems on the slew of modern transport and fighter aircraft it is buying. Incidentally, 16 of the airports are near the border with China.
The Request for Proposal (RFP) for airfield upgradation was issued in 2007 and sent to various global players which include US defence major Raytheon bidding jointly with Tata Power, French Siemens and Thales and Italian consortium Finmeccanica. The first airfield to be upgraded in the first phase would be the IAF airbase at Hindon, as the first C-130J military transport aircraft is expected to arrive at this base some time in December this year.
In the first phase of modernising 30 airfields will be completed in 42 months. The Centre has made a provisional allocation of Rs.180 crore for the project in the 2009-10 budget, and the sum will be released after the contract is signed. Phase II of the project, under which 20 airfields would be upgraded, will start after the completion of Phase-I.
