defproEADS looking to win more time to renegotiate A400M delivery
14:01 GMT, June 9, 2009 European aerospace giant EADS will ask the seven nations governments which are involved in the A400M programme for additional six months to re-negotiate the delivery timetable for the military transport plane, AFP quoted business daily El Economista as writing.
The newspaper said that EADS will meet with the defence ministers of Spain, Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Luxembourg and Turkey after Paris Air Show to discuss this topic in Seville, the same place where the A400M was unveiled.
The seven A400M countries initially had the possibility to cancel their orders as of April 1 because of the delays but EADS, the parent company of Airbus,negotiated a three month extension to present a new delivery timetable which expires at the end of the month.
Last week French Defence Minister Herve Morin said that there would likely be a meeting between ministers from the seven participating countries and EADS in Seville that would be followed by a “second period of several months” to re-negotiate the clauses of the delivery contracts.
The A400M was initially scheduled to start being delivered at the end of2009 but the programme is suffering from a delay of at least three years and clients have threatened to cancel their orders.
defproIndia (re-)opens combat and cargo helicopters tender
06:39 GMT, May 28, 2009 NEW DELHI | The Indian Air Force (IAF) has announced two separate tenders for the purchase of 22 advanced attack and 15 heavy-lift helicopters, the Times of India reported on Wednesday.
The daily said the military had been pressing the government for several years to replace and modernize their mostly Soviet-vintage inventory.
The IAF acquired a few Mi-26s in the mid-1980s, but the aircraft are now ageing, short of spare components and need replacing. India faces many of the same problems that the Allied forces in Afghanistan do because of the high, hot environments that aircraft must fly in.
The tender for the 22 advanced attack helicopters was first released just before the Berlin Air Show in May 2008 to six contenders, three U.S. companies – Sikorsky (Black Hawk), Boeing (Apache AH 64D), Bell (Super Cobra) – and Eurocopter (Tiger) Russia’s Mil (Mi-35), and Augusta Westland for Mangusta.
The U.S. companies said, however, they were unable to take part in the original tender in the United States due to “time constraints and procedural bottlenecks.” Both Boeing and Bell helicopter wanted to reach a government-to-government deal, while the IAF wanted to buy directly from the manufacturer.
The IAF then canceled the original tender and decided to re-issue the tender to ensure that the most competitive aircraft were involved in the procurement process.
Boeing’s India unit confirmed that it has been invited for both the tenders. Viuvek Lall, Boeing’s Integrated Defense Systems country head for India, was quoted as saying: “Boeing has received the RfPs [Request for Proposals] for the attack and heavy lift helicopters and will review the requirements. Boeing’s Apache and Chinook can provide the Indian Air Force with the most capable, proven and versatile platforms in their respective class.”
A.J.S. Walia, Sikorsky’s India vice president, said his company will pit “the world famous Black Hawk” against the competition.
As attack aircraft, India requested a 2.5 tonne twin-engined copter with all-weather and terrain ability. The new copter should also be highly manoeuvrable and able to deploy 20mm turret guns, rockets, air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles. The new attack helicopter should also be able to employ air-to-ground, fire-and-forget missiles with a range of at least seven kilometers. Beyond that it should be equipped with anti-armour capabilities and be capable of operating at high altitudes such as in the Kashmir’s mountain borders with Pakistan with day-and-night operations capabilities.
defproRafale again in Indians $10 billion MMRCA competition
13:00 GMT, May 25, 2009 defpro.com | French Dassault Aviation SA (AM.FR) is likely to rejoin the race with five other global firms competing for the deal, AFP quoted MoD officials. According to several News Agencies, Dassault which is offering the Rafale fighter aircraft failed to meet the required qualitative parameters listed in the Request for Proposal issued in 2007 for the aircraft manufacturers. The company, consequently, was excluded from continuing in the contest for the $10 billion (€7,6 billion) IAF deal (see: defence.professionals | defpro.com).
“Dassault Aviation has been cleared to put up its Rafale fighter jet for field trials,” the official said, further stating that the government has release this approval last week. In such a case, the Rafele would participate in the field trials expected to start soon, together with the other five bidders, consisting of Boeing’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, Saab’s Gripen NG, Eurofighter’s Typhoon, Lockheed Martin’s F-16, and Russian Mikoyan’s MiG-35.
Dassault is one of six contenders for one of the biggest fighter aircraft deals since the early 1990s, the Indian Air Force’s medium multirole combat aircraft (MRCS/MMRCA) requirement covering 126 fighter jets.
“Dassault was dropped as it did not meet user requirements but the decision to re-induct it into the bidding was taken after the company offered the missing answers,” the non-named official told AFP.
The official also said that the new government will have the final call in this issue, which is expected for later this week.
Under the conditions of IAF’s RFP, 18 of the jet fighters would be bought off the shelf and the remaining 108 will be manufactured by the public sector Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd through licensed transfer of technology. The RFP implies that the first aircraft is supplied within 36 months of the contract’s signing and the 18th aircraft within 48 months. The 19th aircraft, the first to be assembled in India, will come within 54 months. Thereafter, there will be an incremental increase with the last aircraft to be delivered by 2020.
defproRafale again in Indians $10 billion MMRCA competition
Source: http://www.defpro.com/news/details/7634/
13:00 GMT, May 25, 2009 defpro.com | French Dassault Aviation SA (AM.FR) is likely to rejoin the race with five other global firms competing for the deal, AFP quoted MoD officials. According to several News Agencies, Dassault which is offering the Rafale fighter aircraft failed to meet the required qualitative parameters listed in the Request for Proposal issued in 2007 for the aircraft manufacturers. The company, consequently, was excluded from continuing in the contest for the $10 billion (€7,6 billion) IAF deal (see: defence.professionals | defpro.com).
“Dassault Aviation has been cleared to put up its Rafale fighter jet for field trials,” the official said, further stating that the government has release this approval last week. In such a case, the Rafele would participate in the field trials expected to start soon, together with the other five bidders, consisting of Boeing’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, Saab’s Gripen NG, Eurofighter’s Typhoon, Lockheed Martin’s F-16, and Russian Mikoyan’s MiG-35.
Dassault is one of six contenders for one of the biggest fighter aircraft deals since the early 1990s, the Indian Air Force’s medium multirole combat aircraft (MRCS/MMRCA) requirement covering 126 fighter jets.
“Dassault was dropped as it did not meet user requirements but the decision to re-induct it into the bidding was taken after the company offered the missing answers,” the non-named official told AFP.
The official also said that the new government will have the final call in this issue, which is expected for later this week.
Under the conditions of IAF’s RFP, 18 of the jet fighters would be bought off the shelf and the remaining 108 will be manufactured by the public sector Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd through licensed transfer of technology. The RFP implies that the first aircraft is supplied within 36 months of the contract’s signing and the 18th aircraft within 48 months. The 19th aircraft, the first to be assembled in India, will come within 54 months. Thereafter, there will be an incremental increase with the last aircraft to be delivered by 2020.
defproGermany ready to order third tranche of Eurofighter
07:03 GMT, May 24, 2009 BERLIN, defpro.com | The German Ministry of Defence said that an order for the first batch of the third tranche of Typhoon Eurofighter will be placed before the summer recess begins and thus before the federal election in September.
This has become possible after Britain’s recent commitment to buy tranche 3A of the aircraft. Germany was pushing Britain to go ahead with the purchase and to authorise payments before the German elections in September.
According to the German procedure, the parliamentary budget committee has to agree to the purchase.
Link and more infos here: http://www.defpro.com/news/details/7621/
defproGermany ready to order third tranche of Eurofighter
07:03 GMT, May 24, 2009 BERLIN, defpro.com | The German Ministry of Defence said that an order for the first batch of the third tranche of Typhoon Eurofighter will be placed before the summer recess begins and thus before the federal election in September.
This has become possible after Britain’s recent commitment to buy tranche 3A of the aircraft. Germany was pushing Britain to go ahead with the purchase and to authorise payments before the German elections in September.
According to the German procedure, the parliamentary budget committee has to agree to the purchase.
Link and more infos here: http://www.defpro.com/news/details/7621/
defproFinally: IAF to receive AWACS on May 25
13:35 GMT, May 22, 2009 defpro.com | Heralding a new chapter, the first Indian Air Force AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) platform that altogether sets to alter the dimension of the see-through capability of the IAF beyond conventional visions of ground-based and tethered electromagnetic sensors, will arrive in India on May 25.
In 2004 India signed a $1.1 billion contract with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) for three new Phalcon AWACS.
On its maiden flight from Israel to India, the veritable flying-giant with an all-pervasive electromagnetic vision will land first at Jamnagar in western Gujarat and arrive at Palam airport the following day. Although slated to operate from Agra, home to the mammoth Ilyushin family in India, an induction ceremony awaits the first AWACS in the National Capital.
The ceremony will be attended by among others the Chief of the Air Staff, Vice Chief of the Air Staff, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chiefs of the Western and Central Air Command and other senior dignitaries from the Ministry of Defence, Air HQs besides air warriors from the squadron itself.
The AWACS is an airborne mission support system fitted on an IL-76 aircraft with improved engines. With radar that can help detect even a cruise missile or an aircraft at ranges far more than the ranges detected through the present ground-based radars, the AWACS radar, most sophisticated to date, can collate surface information about troop movements and missile launches even while listening to highly confidential communications between enemy frontline units.
Air combats the world over are now envisaged in an ever-increasing electronic surveillance environment where pilots have little liberties for individual manouevring without endangering their own lives or safety of their aircraft. The IAF AWACS will help pilots find hitherto unconceivable space and room for tactical manouevres in the air under controlled directions that will give them an edge over their adversaries at all times.
AWACS, a potent force-multiplier, will significantly enhance the effectiveness of both – offensive and defensive operations. The intensity and pace of modern air battle need AWACS for a successful air defence umbrella to be maintained. The swift mobility that the AWACS platform provides will help neutralize any threat as it can be moved anywhere at a very short notice.
Sign In
