guess the toad was just ****ed about the 5 Embraer and 3 Boeings I posted yesterday.

here’s some more:

http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/holnus/001200407171538.htm

India to buy 16 more Sea King helicopters
Bangalore, July 17. (PTI): The Indian Navy plans to acquire an additional 16 Sea King class helicopters from the UK-based West Land Helicopters for augmenting its fleet strength to over 30 medium range helicopters.

“We need about 16 helicopters to complete our fleet strength and have asked West Land Helicopters to look around for Sea King class helicopters which have flown about 1,000 to 2,000 hours,” Deputy Chief of Naval Staff, Vice-Admiral S V Gopalachari, told reporters here today after inaugurating the “Transmission Test Facility” of Sea King helicopters for the Indian Navy at the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.

“We will buy it out, but of course, subject to government approvals,” he said.

The Navy had to “ground” the 10 to 12 tonne class Sea King helicopters after West Land held back spares and tools from India following the US sanctions after the Pokhran blasts in 1998.

“It did not affect our operations, but would have affected in the long run,” Gopalachari said, adding that indigenisation efforts for components and spares were immediately taken up.

HAL Design and Development Director Ashok Baweja said with the help of the private industry, HAL produced in India about 600 of the 700 spares and about 460 of the 490 tools used in the helicopters.

HAL, he said, had entered an agreement with West Land two months ago for transfer of design updates for the helicopter.

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PS. SeaKing spares issue is resolved in 2002 after lifting of US sanctions.
there’s some kind of online spares ordering system for which IN was given the access!

The Statesman (India)
July 16, 2004
HEADLINE: NEW COMMAND TO BOOST SECURITY ON PAK BORDER
Srinjoy Chowdhury in New Delhi July 15. –

With defence minister Mr Pranab Mukherjee clearing the creation of a new Army command near the Indo-Pak border, only a nod from the Cabinet Committee on Security and before that, the finance ministry, are necessary before it becomes a reality.

The creation of the South-western Command will be the biggest step towards reorganising the Army’s defence structure in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab-Rajasthan sectors. Defence officials said the command should come up sometime later this year. It will comprise 10 corps, a holding formation of two divisions – 26 and 29 – on the Pakistan border and one of India’s three strike corps. It will be wedged between the Western and Southern Commands. The headquarters for the command could be at Ambala though a final decision is yet to be taken. The 10 Corps HQ could be at Pathankot. Other places were also considered but many are being considered too close to the border.

Major changes in the Army’s Northern and Western Commands are likely. First, the Army’s 16 Corps will be divided into two – 16 and 17 Corps. The 17 Corps will be given to the Western Command which, geographically, will shift upwards, taking a chunk of the Northern Command’s space and strength. This is because Northern Command is being considered virtually unmanageable in terms of logistics. Currently, the Northern Command has 14 Corps, looking after the Sino-Indian border in Ladakh, Kargil and Siachen, 15 Corps responsible for much of the anti-militancy operations north of the Pir Panjal Range and military activities. Finally, 16 Corps, the biggest of the lot, has a similar profile south of the range. The process of reorganising the Army’s forces along the LoC and the Indo-Pak border began sometime last year.

******

Bring_it_on : India was “exploring” the idea of a few C-130 for
paras and to fly missions to our two Antarctica stations at which
it is proven and very good. I dont think it will be bought though,
the MTA proj with the russians offers far more offset, cost adv and tech.