India to build 440 light utility choppers for armed forces

[acid rain]

What sort of role LUH involves in? Does it have any weapons / surveillance systems on it?

Whatever role a light helicopter usually takes care of - but military grade. Transport, logistics, disaster management, replenishment, aerial surveillance..weapons are mostly personnel carried guns. Will not have its own weapons.

 

[Water Car Engineer]

IA uses them as scouts also.

 

[Sam Manekshaw]

Good to see HAL and Indian private firm competing....this is remarkable....Let the competition be alive.
First let them have equal share of orders...as they get use to manufacturing and R&D we will reap the benefit in future...
On smaller note:- HAL have to catch up with private firm...coz they won't do a shit without competition.
Meanwhile, their contribution is huge to keep the existing aircraft going....but now they have to move further.

What sort of role LUH involves in? Does it have any weapons / surveillance systems on it?

same as cheetah

 

[sancho]

Good to see HAL and Indian private firm competing....this is remarkable....Let the competition be alive.

Competition is the key to improve our aero sector, but in this case it's also a problem, because scrapping this competition and re-issuing it, will make things even further delayed and more complicated. MoD should simply had forced HAL to share the production to a higher extend with privat partners and select one of the 2 shortlisted LUH's (preferably with as much commonality to HAL's LUH).

HAL have to catch up with private firm...coz they won't do a shit without competition.

HAL actually has the advantage of being the biggest company in the aero field, with the experience and support available today. Most privat companies might have benefits on the industrial side, but still lacks far behind on the development side. That will only come by teaming up with, or taking over experienced foreign companies. But true, our PSU's had benefitted from the monopoly for far too long and didn't used it to the best for India. That's what the competition will change now, since they have to put more effort to the game, if they want to get contracts.

 

[acid rain]

@sancho,
in fact its a good thing the way it is, give me one e.g. of hal ever sharing production on equal terms with private players - they, if given the whole responsibility will bring in more red tapism and mess up the deal..

even if there are delays, let the private firms mature on their own with pandering to the babus of hal.

 

[sancho]

in fact its a good thing the way it is, give me one e.g. of hal ever sharing production on equal terms with private players

That's why I said MoD should had forced them, that would only be a minor correction and would not have forced a complete re-tendering and delay of months.

 

[TimeTraveller]

Not a good idea...Kamov was the best option for India...

 

[acid rain]

That's why I said MoD should had forced them, that would only be a minor correction and would not have forced a complete re-tendering and delay of months.

I prefer this much more - a complete de-linking away from hal so that the private firms mature and supply complete systems on their own.

Not a good idea...Kamov was the best option for India...

In fact its a brilliant idea - the whole heli program came under the make in India program...plus the private players directly competing.

.@abingdonboy,

This, I would say would be the biggest order that Indian private firms will get.

 

[sancho]

I prefer this much more - a complete de-linking away from hal so that the private firms mature and supply complete systems on their own.

But you are not hurting HAL, because even if they get a financial hit, they still will have the 187 x LUH order of their own helicopter. So they don't bother too much about not getting the production of foreign LUH, while IA and IAF will be hurt the most from further delays of this competition, especially delays of this magnitude! Even of we assume, only Kamov and Eurocopter would field their known helicopters, they now would need to team up with Indian partners, come up with a joint offer and show the MoD a propper plan on how they intend to do the manufacturing in India. That alone will take a long time, but it is more than likely that other competitiors will now try to get into the competition too (US vendors for sure), which means more negotiations and more delays. And all this certainly is not the best for India, if the effect is so little.

 

[jha]

Would have been a nice decision if not for the delay. It will atleast 2-3 more years to negotiate. Private players will be elated but Armed forces will not be pleased. May be Dhruv can share the load for time being.