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| Antonov An-148 (Wiki Info - Image: Wiki Commons) |
By VIVEK RAGHUVANSHI
NEW DELHI — A blown deadline by Ukraine’s Antonov means that a joint venture between Airbus and Tata Group has emerged as the sole bidder in a $3 billion deal to sell 56 military transport aircraft to the Indian Air Force, according to an Indian Defence Ministry source.
Airbus Defence and Space has tied up with India’s Tata Advanced Systems Ltd. for the program to replace India’s fleet of Avro transport planes. The MoD refused to give Antonov an extension on its bid after it missed the Oct. 22 deadline.
The Avro replacement program is the MoD’s first attempt to involve only domestic private-sector companies — in the process sidestepping state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL).
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| Airbus C-295 (File Photo) |
The source added that the MoD is unsure whether to award the contract to Airbus, since it awards contracts to single vendors only in exceptional cases.
Airbus and Tata announced their joint bid on Oct. 28. They plan to offer the Airbus C-295 to the MoD, but neither company would comment.
Read the full story at DefenseNews