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| IAF Avro aircraft to be replaced |
By VIVEK RAGHUVANSHI
NEW DELHI — A $3 billion Indian Air Force effort to acquire 56 transport aircraft from a foreign company has run into a roadblock after Minister for Heavy Industries Praful Patel asked why state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) was excluded from consideration.
In response, Defence Minister A.K. Antony has asked officials to look into the complaint, which sources say could stall the program.
In May, a tender to procure 56 aircraft to replace the air force’s aging Avro fleet was sent to overseas companies: Casa (EADS) of Spain, Alenia Aeronautica of Italy, Boeing and Lockheed Martin of the United States, Antonov Design Bureau of Ukraine, Ilyushin Design Bureau of Russia and Embraer of Brazil. The tender was not sent to HAL, the state-owned military aircraft manufacturer, and for the first time the tender allowed the selected overseas company to choose an Indian private-sector company as the lead partner for the licensed production of the aircraft. Until now, HAL has been the lead partner for all military aircraft programs.
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