News Story: Swiss firm not extending maintenance deal for India's PC-7 trainers

By: Vivek Raghuvanshi

NEW DELHI — The maintenance contract for the Indian Air Force's 75 PC-7 Turbo Trainers will not be extended, according to a Ministry of Defence official. 

The aircraft, manufactured by Pilatus Aircraft of Switzerland and acquired in 2012, was under a maintenance deal that expired in December 2016.

"The follow-on guarantee of further 36 months beyond December 2016 is not being cleared by MoD on grounds of steep price," the MoD official said.

The Swiss company was unavailable for comment, but an Indian Air Force official asserted that the Pilatus is not extending the contract because the MoD decided against buying additional PC-7 Turbo Trainers, "which were earlier agreed upon."

"Due to no maintenance contract, IAF is using its own resources and resorting to buying parts from the local market to maintain the Pilatus fleet," the Air Force official said.

The PC-7 trainers were purchased by the outgoing government despite opposition to the foreign purchase by the state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. HAL had wanted a contract for the HTT-40 basic trainer that it was developing. 

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News Story: Fund Shortage and Depreciating Rupee Hit Key IAF Programs

Pilatus PC-7

Vivek Raghuvanshi

NEW DELHI — The Indian Air Force (IAF) faces a severe resource crunch as 11 key defense projects await signing despite their finalization, according to IAF officials speaking on the condition of anonymity.

The rising US dollar against the Indian rupee and lower budget allocations by the ruling Narendra Modi government are the main causes of the squeeze, the IAF officials say.

There is a shortage of $1.13 billion in the Capital Head account, which is reserved for buying new weapons, and $420 million in the Revenue Head account, which is used to pay for military salaries and day-to-day expenses, including ammunition and stores.

The IAF projects that await signing before they can be funded include  procurement of 56 new aircraft to replace the aging Avro transporters, 48 medium-lift helicopters, six midair refueling tankers, 20 Hawk advance jet trainers and 38 Pilatus basic trainers.

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News Story: India's Homegrown Trainer HTT-40 Readies for Flight Trials

Model of the HTT-40 trainer aircraft (Image: Wiki Commons)

By Vivek Raghuvanshi

Uncertainty Looms Over Whether the Indian Air Force Will Use It

NEW DELHI — India's state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) plans to go ahead with development of the homegrown basic trainer HTT-40, but there is uncertainty if the Indian Air Force (IAF) would ever buy it because the timeline for development of the trainer is incomplete.

The IAF has already contracted the Swiss Pilatus basic trainer PC-Mark-II and conveyed to the Ministry of Defence in the past that it is not in favor of using the HTT-40 trainer, which was rolled out from the hangar on Feb. 2 to prepare for its flight.

In February 2015, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), the highest body in the MoD responsible for clearing weapon purchases, approved a proposal of the IAF to buy 38 additional Pilatus trainers to top the existing 75, but the DAC also ordered that further IAF needs be met through procurement of HTT-40 basic trainers, which was not demanded by IAF.

IAF officials said in private that bureaucrats in the MoD, while deciding whether to order HTT-40 trainers, had overlooked Air Force recommendations, which in 2013 had strongly urged the homemade HTT-40 trainer project be put on hold and 106 additional Pilatus trainers be procured.

Even as HAL rolled out the HTT-40, uncertainty persisted on the fate of the homemade trainer.

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News Story: India Invites Bids for $2.4 Billion Artillery Contract

NEW DELHI — India on Saturday invited bids for a $2.4-billion artillery deal while deferring a decision on acquiring 106 Swiss Pilatus aircraft for fighter pilot training.

The bid for 814 mounted guns is the first big artillery tender in nearly three decades since the scandal-hit Swedish Bofors guns deal in 1987.

The Defence Acquisition Council, which clears high-value military procurements, issued the tender after holding its first meeting under new Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar.

The high-value bid comes as India seeks to replace its old 105mm light field guns with a mix of towed, mounted and wheeled artillery.

"The minister took stock and stressed on fast and transparent acquisitions," a source in the defense ministry told AFP.

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India: Commander- In-Chief, Russian Federation Air Force Calls on Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha, Chairman COSC & CAS and Indo-Russian Exercise

Commander- In-Chief, Russian Federation Air Force Calls on Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha, Chairman COSC & CAS

Bilateral ties of India and Russia are a key pillar of Indian foreign policy, since the signing of the “Declaration on the India-Russian Strategic Partnership’’ in 2000, Regular high level interactions have taken place in the recent past. 

Colonel Gen Viktor Nikolaevich Bondarev, Commander-in-Chief of Russian Federation Air Force (RFAF) called on Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha at Air Headquarters (Vayu Bhavan), today. 

Some of the major procurement contracts signed with Russia for the Indian Air Force in the last decade have been IJT Engines, MiG-29 Upgrades, Mi-17 V5 and Medium Lift Helicopters (MLH). Besides these, contracts for Joint Production of Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft and Multi Role Transport Aircraft have been signed. 

News Story: India Looks Abroad for New Jet Trainer

HJT-36 Sitara (Wiki Info - Image: Wiki Commons)

By VIVEK RAGHUVANSHI

NEW DELHI — The Indian Defence Ministry, tired of waiting for its homemade intermediate jet trainer, is seeking a solution from overseas.

The MoD floated a global tender in early May for the trainer through a request for information (RFI). The jet trainer is being developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL).

Analysts see the RFI as the MoD’s first attempt to allow competition for low-tech defense products that are under development by state-owned companies.

“In the past, whenever an indigenous product was available [through state-owned defense companies], it completely closed the gates for further efforts to seek alternatives with better operational or commercial terms,” said Subhash Bhojwani, a retired Air Force air marshal. “And if the defense services still insisted on going ahead, they were labeled as being enamored by imports.”

The RFI was sent to Russia’s Yakovlev; Italy’s Alenia Aermacchi; Korea Aerospace Industries; US companies Boeing, Northrop Grumman and Beechcraft; and Sweden’s Saab.

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Industry: Indian Air Force Pilatus PC-7 MkII Fleet Clocks Record Performance

The Indian Air Force PC-7 MkII fleet has notched up commendable milestones even as training on the PC-7 MkII proceeds apace at the Indian Air Force training centre at Dundigal. The PC-7 MkII fleet has achieved more than 12,000 flying hours and accumulated well over 24,000 landings, since the first delivery of the new Basic Trainer Aircraft (BTA) to the Indian Air Force in February last year.

This significant achievement demonstrates the outstanding performance of the new PC-7 MkII training platform and the excellent co-operation between the Indian Air Force and Pilatus Aircraft Ltd in maintaining and operating a highly reliable Basic Trainer Aircraft.

As of April, less than two years after contract signature, the Indian Air Force has taken delivery of 35 PC-7 MkII aircraft and the remaining 40 aircraft are being flown-in on a monthly basis under the accelerated delivery schedule.

News Story: India Wants Domestic Production of Pilatus Trainers

By VIVEK RAGHUVANSHI

NEW DELHI — After contracting 75 basic trainer aircraft from Pilatus in 2012, the Indian Ministry of Defence wants to buy an additional 106 that would be license-built by a domestic company.

But domestic defense firms find the proposal uneconomical, and state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) is pushing its own homegrown basic trainer, though the Indian Air Force has already rejected it.

The request for information, described by the defense industry as the first of its kind, asks selected domestic companies if they would participate in the proposed $1.2 billion program to build 106 Pilatus PC-7 Mark-II trainers under license from the Swiss company in the “Buy and Make (Indian)” category, which restricts contracts to domestic defense companies and requires that at least half of the components and subsystems come from domestic sources.

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News Story: IAF, HAL tussle on trainer aircraft development continues

Pilatus PC-7 (File Photo)

NEW DELHI (PTI): Despite insistence by state-owned HAL to produce a basic trainer aircraft indigenously, the IAF has decided to procure such planes from abroad to train its rookie pilots.

While HAL has been insisting on producing the aircraft locally since 2009 citing a Defence Ministry decision to do so, IAF has now floated a Request for Information (RFI) for procuring 106 more Pilatus PC-7 basic trainers manufactured in Switzerland.

IAF has already procured 75 Pilatus aircraft from Switzerland and has been opposing the development of HTT-40 basic trainer aircraft by HAL, which claims that its aircraft would be superior to the imported plane.

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News Story: IAF rejects HAL basic trainer aircraft project

Pilatus PC-7 basic trainer aircraft (File Photo)

NEW DELHI (PTI): While pushing for the procurement of a foreign basic trainer aircraft for its rookie pilots, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has rejected a similar indigenous plane being developed by the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), saying public money cannot be wasted on such "extravagant" projects.

The statement by Air Chief Marshal NAK Browne at the IAF Day press conference on Oct 4 comes against the backdrop of a tussle between the IAF and the state-run HAL over whether to procure an imported basic trainer aircraft or to develop it indigenously.

The IAF is in favour of procuring the imported Pilatus PC-7 basic trainer aircraft while the defence PSU wants to develop the aircraft indigenously.

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Industry: PC-7 MkII Boosts Indian Air Force Pilot Training with Record On-time Deliveries

A Pilatus  PC-7 (Wiki Info - Image: Wiki Commons)

The first Indian Air Force Basic Training course using the Pilatus PC-7 MkII aircraft, which commenced on 1st July 2013 with more than 80 students is not only well on schedule, but has also received great performance ratings from trainees and instructors alike.

Within fifteen months of contract signing, the record on-time deliveries of aircraft and logistic support material by Pilatus has enabled the Indian Air Force to complete induction of eighteen aircraft as per the agreement. Further, a steady stream of additional aircraft is being added on a monthly basis and under the accelerated delivery schedule all 75 basic trainer aircraft are expected to be handed over to the Indian Air Force by mid-2015.

Think Tank: Economic Slow Down - India's Defence Modernisation First Casualty

Rahul Bhonsle

India’s Finance Minister Mr P Chidambaram is a man known to set and achieve targets. With his Harvard background, Chidambaram set a hectic pace at the Ministry of Home Affairs, when he headed the same immediately after the terror attacks on 26 November 2008 in Mumbai and professionalised functioning results of which are evident now. 

In the Finance Ministry however Chidambaram is facing an uphill task in meeting targets of fiscal and current account deficit. Currency depreciation and declining GDP growth despite the recent rush of optimism after Raghuram Rajan took over as Governor of the Reserve Bank of India are flickers of brightness in an otherwise dark tunnel. 

With Food Security and related Acts having got the nod of the parliament, government subsidy is likely to increase, while impending elections implies cuts which will impact the Aam Admi will remain off course. This in turn implies reduction in government expenditure in so called non essential areas and large budget heads such as Defence.

The Defence Budget, with an annual outlay of Rs 203672.12 Crore (US $ 37.70 Billion @Rs 54 per US $ in February 2013at the time of announcement of the Budget) for 2013-14 is likely to be one of the main heads which will see a cut back. Traditionally the Ministry of Defence (MOD) is known to surrender approximately 6- 8 percent of the capital budget, which for 2013-14 is Rs 86740.71 Crore (US $ 16.06 Billion in February at the time of announcement of the Budget) which accounts for roughly Rs 5000 to 8000 Crore or so. In recent years, the MOD has succeeded in streamlining the processes with timely adjustment within the services to avoid surrender.

News Story: Indian AF Chief Slams Hindustan Aeronautics

Pilatus PC-7 Mark 2 (File Photo)

Asks MoD to Skip Local Planes, Buy Swiss-made Trainers

By VIVEK RAGHUVANSHI

NEW DELHI — In a scathing attack on India’s monopoly military aircraft manufacturer, the head of the Air Force has asked the Defence Ministry to drop plans to produce a homemade basic trainer and instead continue purchasing Swiss-made trainers.

In a detailed letter written to Defence Minister A.K. Antony last month, Air Chief Marshal N.A.K. Browne wrote that Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) should instead focus on its delayed aircraft projects, especially intermediate jet trainers (IJTs), and not build the HTT-40 homemade basic trainer.

In making the case for further purchases of the Pilatus PC-7 Mark 2 trainers, Browne wrote that not only are the PC-7s cheaper than the HTT-40s, there is also no guarantee that HAL would adhere to the delivery schedule, given its poor track record.

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