News Report: India Launches Two Naval Patrol Vessels Built by Private Indian Defense Company

For the first time, the Indian Navy has launched two naval offshore patrol vessels (NOPVs) built by a private Indian defense company. The NOPVs were built by the Anil Ambani-led Reliance Defence and Engineering Limited at its Pipavav shipyard in the western state of Gujarat.

New Delhi (Sputnik) — The two NOPVs are part of five ships under the P-21 project being constructed for the Indian Navy by RDEL at a cost worth $375 million. The two ships will be known as Shachi and Shruti in the Indian Navy.

"The launch is a significant and milestone event as these two NOPVs are the first warships to be launched by a private sector shipyard in India," Vice Admiral Girish Luthra, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command said.

News Story: Indian Navy to buy vessels from private shipyards in policy change

By: Vivek Raghuvanshi

NEW DELHI — In a departure from an earlier policy of awarding big-ticket defense programs to state-owned companies on a nomination basis, the Indian Ministry of Defence has decided to source four landing platform docks from private defense companies.

"MoD will shortly invite revised commercial bids for purchase of four LPD vessels costing around $3 billion from two shortlisted private defense companies because the price validity has expired [last month] and government-owned companies have been dropped from the program," according to a senior MoD official.

Under the 2013 tender, only two LPDs were to be built by a domestic private sector company and the remaining two vessels on nomination basis by state-owned company Hindustan Shipyard Limited.

Only domestic defense companies Larsen & Toubro and Reliance Defence and Engineering Limited, or RDEL — formerly known as Pipavav Defence and Offshore Engineering — could clear the financial and technical compliance completed last year.

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News Story: Indian Naval LPD Program Making Headway With 2 Domestic Vendors

INS Jalashwa (Image: Wiki Commons)

By: Vivek Raghuvanshi

NEW DELHI — The Indian Navy may as early as this month begin the commercial bidding process for its $2.6 billion program to build four 20,000-ton landing platform docks (LPD), following the final selection of two domestic vendors. 

Only Reliance Defence and Engineering Limited (RDEL) — formerly known as Pipavav Defence and Offshore Engineering — and private sector business Larsen & Toubro (L&T) cleared the financial and technical tests from September. A third vendor, ABG Shipyard, which has a technical relationship with Alion of the United States, could not clear the tests because it failed to restructure its debts, a senior Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) official said. 

L&T has a tie-up with Navantia of Spain, and RDEL with DCNS of France. 

No ABG Shipyard executive would comment on the outcome of the Indian Navy's routine technical and financial tests. 

The Navy floated the tender in 2013 for production of four LPDs, and bids were sent to domestic shipyards, L&T, RDEL, and ABG Shipyard. 

Under the program, two LPDs will be built by a private shipyard, and then state-owned Hindustan Shipyard Limited will build the remaining two LPDs at the same cost. 

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News Story: Sweden Pitches Sale of Saab's Gripen-NG Fighter Jet to India

By Gerard O'Dwyer

HELSINKI — Sweden is pursuing an ambitious "government-to-government" multibillion dollar (US) project to sell Saab’s Gripen-NG fighter to India.

The Gripen-NG was tentatively offered to India during meetings between senior Swedish and Indian government officials in Mumbai on Feb. 14-15. Saab was a participant in at least one of the meetings.

Saab was part of a Swedish government-sponsored, high-powered trade group that comprised many of Sweden’s leading industrial corporations, including Ericsson, Volvo, ABB, Scania and BAE Systems Hägglunds AB.

The intergovernmental talks culminated with a joint commitment signed by Sweden’s Prime Minister Stefan Löfven and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi to "enhance dialogue" on defense in key areas such as aviation, air-defense, maritime security, combat training and simulation in the army domain.

"There is a general consensus that India wants to strengthen its defense capability. While the country will need to purchase, there is a strong confidence here in the capability of Sweden’s defense industry. We did not conduct any concrete discussions on business deals, but we do see a great opportunity here for Sweden’s defense industry in its entirety and Gripen is a very strong project. We naturally intend to continue talks," said Löfven.

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News Story: Indian Vehicle Program Hits Hurdle Over Company Selections

By Vivek Raghuvanshi

NEW DELHI — India's $11 billion Future Infantry Combat Vehicle (FICV) program faces hurdles after private domestic companies objected to the Defence Ministry's nomination of state-owned Ordnance Factory Board as one of the program's Development Agencies (DA).

The other DA's will be selected from among more than half a dozen competing private companies, and the MoD has extended the date of filing their bids to Feb. 16.

Under the Make India category, two DA's would be selected and the government would fund up to 80 percent of the prototypes. After trials, one of the DA's would be asked to produce the FICV.

When asked if the private companies endorse the nomination of OFB, Rajinder Bhatia, CEO of Bharat Forge, one of the competitors, said, "No comment. We hope this one-time exception and nomination would be discontinued as promised by the MoD."

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News Story: India May Replace Global VSHORAD Tender With Domestic-Only One

SAAB RBS 70 (Image: Wiki Commons)

By Vivek Raghuvanshi

NEW DELHI — India's $1.5 billion global tender for man-portable very short-range air defense (VSHORAD) systems is facing cancellation for the second time since it was launched in 2010 — this time in favor of a domestic-companies-only competition, a Ministry of Defence source said.

While the flight trials of the competing systems were completed in 2013, the tender may be canceled because competitors MBDA, Rosoboronexport and Saab in the past have claimed there was a lack of transparency in the procurement process, the MoD source said. The government is weighing a new VSHORAD tender in the Buy and Make (India) category, restricted to Indian companies, the source said.

For the 2010 tender, Russia's Rosoboronexport fielded the Igla-S, Swedish company Saab offered the RBS 70 NG and France-based MBDA offered the Mistral system for trials.

The procurement process was also halted in 2012 as the MoD studied a proposal from US company Raytheon to supply the Stinger man-portable VSHORAD on a government-to-government basis. However, negotiations yielded no agreement because of issues relating to the transfer of technology.

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News Story: Barriers Impede Revival of Indian Vehicle Project

By Vivek Raghuvanshi

NEW DELHI — India's attempt to revive its homemade Future Infantry Combat Vehicle (FICV) project, worth more than $10 billion, is unlikely to succeed because the defense industry views the selection criteria as  subjective and rules covering intellectual property rights will raise objections from overseas partners, analysts said.

Though the FICV is restricted to domestic companies, analysts said collaboration with overseas companies will be needed in several areas.

The Defence Ministry last month floated fresh expressions of interest for the second time in five years,  inviting private and state-owned domestic companies, two of which will be chosen as development agencies (DA) to develop and build the FICV in the "Make in India" category, in which the government funds 80 percent of the cost of the prototype.

After trials of the prototype, one of the DAs would be shortlisted and asked to produce the FICV to replace more than 2,600 Russian-made BMP infantry combat vehicles, for an estimated cost of over $10 billion.

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Editorial: India, Indonesia to Cooperate on Maritime Security, Defense Procurement

By Prashanth Parameswaran

New Delhi wants to support the development of Indonesia’s military and defense industry.

India wants to support the development of Indonesia’s military and defense industry, the Indonesian Ministry of Defense (MoD) noted August 10.

Following a meeting between Indonesian Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu and India’s ambassador to Indonesia, Gurjit Singh, on August 10, the MoD said the defense partnership between the two countries would focus on two key areas. Both of these were touched on when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Indonesian president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo last year in Myanmar.

Read the full story at The Diplomat

News Story: Private Yards Recommended for Indian Sub Deal

By Vivek Raghuvanshi

NEW DELHI — Only private shipyards will receive a tender to make six air-independent propulsion (AIP) submarines if the Defence Ministry follows the recommendations of an expert committee, an MoD source said.

The US $12 billion tender will be sent to private yards Pipavav Defence and Offshore Engineering and Larsen & Toubro, the source said.

The Navy committee, headed by Vice Adm. A.V. Subhedar, controller of warship production and acquisition, also assessed state-owned Hindustan Shipyard and Mazagon Docks. He made his remarks during his first presentation to the MoD this month.

While the committee is expected to give its final recommendations to the MoD next month, the observations made by members during their presentation cannot be easily ignored by the MoD, the source said, because the Navy wants a time-bound delivery of submarines to add to its falling strength.

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