VVIP? Yes; IAF? No

[sudhir007]

The Telegraph - Calcutta (Kolkata) | Frontpage | VVIP? Yes; IAF? No

New Delhi, Feb. 15: Defence minister A.K. Antony today said the finance ministry had rejected an Indian Air Force proposal to buy mid-air refuellers for its fighter aircraft but had approved the move to buy sophisticated helicopters for VVIPs.

“All purchase proposals go to the finance ministry, and the finance minister is also a member of the cabinet committee on security (CCS),” he said.

“Unless the finance ministry supports a proposal (for a defence acquisition), the CCS cannot take it up. In that (the mid-air refueller) case, the finance ministry categorically told us that they will not support the proposal in the CCS.

“For the helicopters, which were evaluated not only by the Indian Air Force but also by the Special Protection Group because of the threat perception, the finance ministry agreed to take it up with CCS. And the CCS took a considered view that in this case we have to proceed,” Antony explained.

Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee was the defence minister before Antony.

Air Chief Marshal Pradeep Vasant Naik and his predecessor, Air Chief Marshal (retired) Fali Major, had said that IAF had chosen the Airbus 330 MRTT refueller over the Ilyushin 78 and had proposed buying six of the aircraft.

The IAF’s refueller squadron now comprises only IL 78. The IAF projected the MRTT as an operational requirement to extend the flying hours and multiply the number of missions of its fighter aircraft. But the finance ministry rejected the proposal on the ground that it was too expensive.

The rejection of the IAF’s proposal irked European defence companies and the German ambassador to India also voiced his “surprise” publicly.

The government is set to re-tender for refuellers but it has delayed the IAF’s tanker modernisation programme by at least another two years.

For the VVIP helicopters, the government has chosen the Agusta Westland 101— also a European product because the company is owned by the Italian-origin Finmeccanica — over the Sikorsky.

The IAF has projected a requirement for 12 VVIP helicopters for its headquarters communication squadron.

The VVIP helicopter deal is likely to be among contracts worth Rs 50,000 crore that the defence ministry is set to sign by the end of the current fiscal year.

 

[sancho]

The Telegraph - Calcutta (Kolkata) | Frontpage | VVIP? Yes; IAF? No

New Delhi, Feb. 15: Defence minister A.K. Antony today said the finance ministry had rejected an Indian Air Force proposal to buy mid-air refuellers for its fighter aircraft but had approved the move to buy sophisticated helicopters for VVIPs.

“All purchase proposals go to the finance ministry, and the finance minister is also a member of the cabinet committee on security (CCS),” he said.

“Unless the finance ministry supports a proposal (for a defence acquisition), the CCS cannot take it up. In that (the mid-air refueller) case, the finance ministry categorically told us that they will not support the proposal in the CCS.

“For the helicopters, which were evaluated not only by the Indian Air Force but also by the Special Protection Group because of the threat perception, the finance ministry agreed to take it up with CCS. And the CCS took a considered view that in this case we have to proceed,” Antony explained.

Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee was the defence minister before Antony.

Air Chief Marshal Pradeep Vasant Naik and his predecessor, Air Chief Marshal (retired) Fali Major, had said that IAF had chosen the Airbus 330 MRTT refueller over the Ilyushin 78 and had proposed buying six of the aircraft.

The IAF’s refueller squadron now comprises only IL 78. The IAF projected the MRTT as an operational requirement to extend the flying hours and multiply the number of missions of its fighter aircraft. But the finance ministry rejected the proposal on the ground that it was too expensive.

The rejection of the IAF’s proposal irked European defence companies and the German ambassador to India also voiced his “surprise” publicly.

The government is set to re-tender for refuellers but it has delayed the IAF’s tanker modernisation programme by at least another two years.

For the VVIP helicopters, the government has chosen the Agusta Westland 101— also a European product because the company is owned by the Italian-origin Finmeccanica — over the Sikorsky.

The IAF has projected a requirement for 12 VVIP helicopters for its headquarters communication squadron.

The VVIP helicopter deal is likely to be among contracts worth Rs 50,000 crore that the defence ministry is set to sign by the end of the current fiscal year.

The one procurement has nothing to do with the other, so this article is completely misleading!
The point is, A330 MRTT is clearly more capable than the IL 78 tanker, but also way costlier and that might be the real reason why the finance ministry vetoed the deal.

In comparison:

- the IL 78 is a different version of the IL 76 transport aircraft and it uses removable fuel tanks inside of the main cabin. That means it can be used as a tanker and if the fuel tanks are removed as a normal IL 76 transporter for cargo.
- the A330 MRTT instead is a different version of the A330 passanger aircraft. That means all fuel will be stored in the normal fuel tanks at the lower deck and the wings and the main cabin is free for different configurations, like fully cargo transport, fully passenger transport with up to 380 troops, or splited in half passenger, half cargo. It also can be configured as a Medivac!
So at the same time it will be used as a tanker, it can be used for these additional roles too!
- IAF now shows interest in the Boeing 767, which offers mainly the advantages the the A330 too, but it is only smaller in size and can carry less load (wiki says 20% less fuel).

The IL 78 should cost around $ 50 millions, the A330 MRTT around $200 millions, the KC 767 around $130 millions, but the operational costs of the western aircafts should be cheaper. They are derivates of civil passenger aircrafts, so spare parts are cheap and available, also they only have 2 engines, instead of 4 at the IL 78.
So the KC 767 could turn out as a bit less capable than the A330, but maybe more cost-effective, especially compared to the IL 78.