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| India is trying to replace its Avro aircraft seen above. |
By VIVEK RAGHUVANSHI
NEW DELHI — While the Indian government is now allowing overseas aviation companies to choose their production partner in India as part of a US $3 billion tender to replace Avro aircraft, the plan has failed to enthuse domestic and overseas companies alike.
India is allowing other domestic defense companies to partner with overseas companies to break the monopoly of state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL). Yet the domestic defense companies have failed to ink a single tie-up with a major overseas aviation contractor as they find the opportunity to be not economical, according to Indian defense company executives.
At the end of May, the Indian Air Force (IAF) floated a global tender to procure 56 aircraft to replace its twin-engine Avro transport planes. The tender was given to EADS CASA of Spain, Alenia Aermacchi of Italy, Boeing and Lockheed Martin of the US, Antonov Design Bureau of Ukraine, Ilyushin Design Bureau of Russia, and Embraer of Brazil.
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