The Defence Ministry has issued a Request for
Information (RFI) to domestic manufacturers for reconnaissance and
surveillance helicopters for the Army Aviation Corps (AAC) and the
Indian Air Force (IAF).
The RFI states that “The
Indian Army and Indian Air Force are holding Chetak and Cheetah
helicopters. The Ministry of Defence intends to urgently replace the
fleet of existing Cheetah and Chetak helicopters with suitable
helicopters of modern design (hereinafter called Reconnaissance &
Surveillance/ RSH Helicopters).”
This follows the
decision by Defence Minister Arun Jaitley in August to scrap the deal
for 197 helicopters and go for a fresh contract under the ‘Make and Buy’
category of the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP). This is the third
time the RFI has been reissued for the Light Utility Helicopters (LUH).
The RFI, issued on October 31, has sought responses from interested
Indian vendors by November 11.
The contract is open
for both single and twin engine variants. The RFI has not stated the
number of helicopters which the government intends to procure.
It
said: “This Request for Information (RFI) is being issued with the aim
of identifying probable Indian vendors (including an Indian company
forming joint venture/establishing production arrangement with OEM) who
can provide the helicopters followed by licensed production/indigenous
manufacture in the country.” The initial batch of helicopters will come
in flyaway condition from the OEM, while the remaining will be built in
India by an Indian partner through transfer of technology.
This
approach is in line with the Modi government’s policy of indigenously
developing military hardware and reduce dependency on imports.
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