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India, Boeing Continue Talks Over $1.8 Bln Helicopter Deals
NEW DELHI--India is continuing commercial discussions with Boeing Co. (BA) to buy 37 heavy-lift and attack helicopters for its air force at a total cost of about 95.63 billion rupees ($1.8 billion), India's Defense Minister A. K. Antony said Wednesday.
The South Asian country plans to purchase 15 Chinook CH-47F heavy-lift helicopters and 22 AH-64D Block-III Apache attack helicopters from Boeing in separate deals, Mr. Antony told a lawmaker in the upper house of Parliament.
Both the proposals to acquire the helicopters were initiated in May 2009 through a global request for proposal.
Mr. Antony said the "acceptance of necessity cost" for the Chinook helicopters is about 24.68 billion rupees, and 30.95 billion rupees for the Apache. He didn't define "acceptance of necessity" cost.
Boeing was chosen as the preferred vendor for the heavy-lift helicopter contract after its bid was found to be lowest of two competing companies. Both the companies had cleared the technical evaluation and field trials. Mr. Antony didn't name the second company.
An official at the Russian embassy in New Delhi said earlier that Russia-based MiL Moscow Helicopter Plant's Mi-26 was competing against the Chinook.
Mr. Antony said also three companies had responded to the request for proposal for the attack helicopter contract, of which only the Apache cleared the final field evaluation trials.
"Presently, the (Apache) proposal is at contract negotiations stage," he said.
The finalization of the helicopter deals with Boeing will be a significant milestone in India-U.S. defense relations and a boost to Boeing's expanding defense business in India.
India--the world's biggest defense importer--has of late placed orders worth several billions of dollars with the U.S. partly due to growing relations between the two democracies and also as part of attempts to diversify its reliance on longtime supplier--Russia.
In the past few years, India has ordered from Boeing the C-17 Globemaster airlifters as well P8I long-range maritime reconnaissance and antisubmarine aircraft. India also purchased Super Hercules C-130J military-transport planes from Lockheed Martin Corp. It is also buying 145 towed artillery guns from the U.S. unit of U.K-based BAE Systems PLC.
"India, Boeing Continue Talks Over $1.8 Bln Helicopter Deals," at 0903 GMT, misstated the total value of the deals in the first paragraph and headline. The two deals are valued at about 55.63 billion rupees ($1.03 billion), not 95.63 billion rupees ($1.8 billion).
India, Boeing Continue Talks Over $1.8 Bln Helicopter Deals - WSJ.com
NEW DELHI--India is continuing commercial discussions with Boeing Co. (BA) to buy 37 heavy-lift and attack helicopters for its air force at a total cost of about 95.63 billion rupees ($1.8 billion), India's Defense Minister A. K. Antony said Wednesday.
The South Asian country plans to purchase 15 Chinook CH-47F heavy-lift helicopters and 22 AH-64D Block-III Apache attack helicopters from Boeing in separate deals, Mr. Antony told a lawmaker in the upper house of Parliament.
Both the proposals to acquire the helicopters were initiated in May 2009 through a global request for proposal.
Mr. Antony said the "acceptance of necessity cost" for the Chinook helicopters is about 24.68 billion rupees, and 30.95 billion rupees for the Apache. He didn't define "acceptance of necessity" cost.
Boeing was chosen as the preferred vendor for the heavy-lift helicopter contract after its bid was found to be lowest of two competing companies. Both the companies had cleared the technical evaluation and field trials. Mr. Antony didn't name the second company.
An official at the Russian embassy in New Delhi said earlier that Russia-based MiL Moscow Helicopter Plant's Mi-26 was competing against the Chinook.
Mr. Antony said also three companies had responded to the request for proposal for the attack helicopter contract, of which only the Apache cleared the final field evaluation trials.
"Presently, the (Apache) proposal is at contract negotiations stage," he said.
The finalization of the helicopter deals with Boeing will be a significant milestone in India-U.S. defense relations and a boost to Boeing's expanding defense business in India.
India--the world's biggest defense importer--has of late placed orders worth several billions of dollars with the U.S. partly due to growing relations between the two democracies and also as part of attempts to diversify its reliance on longtime supplier--Russia.
In the past few years, India has ordered from Boeing the C-17 Globemaster airlifters as well P8I long-range maritime reconnaissance and antisubmarine aircraft. India also purchased Super Hercules C-130J military-transport planes from Lockheed Martin Corp. It is also buying 145 towed artillery guns from the U.S. unit of U.K-based BAE Systems PLC.
"India, Boeing Continue Talks Over $1.8 Bln Helicopter Deals," at 0903 GMT, misstated the total value of the deals in the first paragraph and headline. The two deals are valued at about 55.63 billion rupees ($1.03 billion), not 95.63 billion rupees ($1.8 billion).
India, Boeing Continue Talks Over $1.8 Bln Helicopter Deals - WSJ.com
