VVIP helicopter deal finally cleared

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VVIP helicopter deal finally cleared idrw.org

After several objections from the Finance Ministry on the price issue, the government on Wednesday cleared the purchase of 12 VVIP helicopters that would be used by the Prime Minister, President and other senior government functionaries.

The Rs 3,726 crore deal for the Agusta Westland AW 101 helicopters — at Rs 310 crore apiece — was cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) after it was given a final push by the Defence Ministry last month.

The helicopters will form part of the IAF’s communications squadron that is tasked with VIP operations and will replace the ageing Russian-origin Mi 17 and Mi 8 helicopters.

The deal had been hanging fire for over two years after the selection of the Italian helicopter as the Finance Ministry objected to the total expense. It also questioned the Defence Ministry over the IAF’s selection of only one helicopter for price negotiations, creating a single-vendor situation.

The Defence Ministry argued that the larger Augusta Westland had been chosen due to its greater passenger-carrying capacity and superior flying range. The Italian helicopter has also been chosen as the US President’s new ‘Marine One’ — for ferrying VVIPs.

 

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IAF?s VVIP aircraft to get anti-collision tech idrw.org

For the first time, the Indian Air Force has decided to equip VVIP aircraft fleet with anti-collision technology to avoid repeat of incidents like the near-miss at Mumbai airport involving President Pratibha Patil’s chopper entourage almost a year ago.

As a precautionary measure and to ensure VVIP safety on board, the defence force will be installing the ground proximity warning system (GPWS), that alerts pilots if aircraft is in immediate danger of flying into the ground or an obstacle, and the traffic collision avoidance system (TCAS), an aircraft collision avoidance system. The second system reduces the incidence of mid-air collisions between aircraft by monitoring the airspace around an aircraft independent of Air Traffic Control.

The President’s office had demanded a time-bound action on the recommendations made by the probe committee investigating the near-miss incident. It had highlighted certain areas which needed urgent attention like upgradation of VVIP helicopters with safety devices as in the civil version of these helicopters.

As of now, the Air Force pilots follow the rule of ‘see and avoid’ in absence of any instrumentation or equipment on board to detect an obstruction or threat to aircraft. “Most of the helicopters operated by IAF for undertaking VVIP flying, though reliable, lack modern-day avionics. They need to be spruced up to match the demands of current situation as air traffic too has shot up considerably,” said (retd) Air Cmdr B S Siwach, secretary general, Rotary Wing Society of India (RWSI).

At a recent meeting with the Civil Aviation Ministry that is overseeing flight safety operations, the IAF representatives said that they would undertake necessary action to make VVIP flying safer. As of now, VVIP status is accorded to the President, Vice-President, PM and foreign heads of states. At the same time, the ministry recently resolved around nine recommendations made by the joint investigating committee formed to investigate the incident involving the President’s chopper, a senior official told The Indian Express. “The standard operating procedures for VVIP flying have been harmonised between the IAF and the Airports Authority of India, and a consensus has been reached to root out any ambiguity so far on the operational side,” added the official.