 |
| AH-64E Apache attack helicopter |
By Franz-Stefan Gady
The recently signed contract also includes a new fleet of transport aircraft.
This week, Indian and U.S. official signed contracts for the procurement of 22 AH-64E Apache attack helicopters and 15 CH-47F Chinook heavy-lift helicopters in a deal estimated to be worth $3 billion the Business Standard reports.
The spokesperson of the Indian Defense Ministry, Sitanshu Kar, tweeted from his account this Monday: “Contracts for purchase of 15 #Chinook and 22 #Apache Helicopters signed.”
India’s Cabinet Committee of Security (CCS), a government body headed by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and responsible for military procurements, approved the purchase in the previous week, after more than ten (some sources say 13) American price validity extensions, which stipulate that the American defense contractor Boeing would sell the military hardware at the price agreed upon in 2013.
Final approval of the purchase had been stalled since that time due to differences over U.S. offset obligations – under India’s Defense Procurement Procedure (DPP) any foreign company has to invest part of the total purchasing price back into the country. The current contract will have a 30 percent offset clause, according to local media reports.
Read the full story at The Diplomat