India - Request For Proposals per 56 aerei cargo

[Andrea75]

India Issues RFP For 56 Cargo Aircraft

 

NEW DELHI — India has issued a request for proposals for 56 cargo aircraft to replace its air force’s aging fleet of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.-built Hawker Siddeley 748M Avro aircraft, according to a defense ministry official.

 

Under the deal, the first 16 aircraft will be directly procured from the chosen foreign vendor, which will then have to partner with an Indian firm that will manufacture the remaining 40. Out of those 40, 16 must have 30% indigenous components, while 24 must have 60% locally procured parts, the official says.

 

The Indian air force (IAF) is looking at several options including IL-114 variants from the Russian Ilyushin Aviation Complex, Ukrainian An-148 Antonov, the twin-turboprop European EADS Casa C-295 and Italian Alenia C-27J Spartan medium-sized military transport aircraft.

 

“The RFP made it clear to foreign players that they will have to select an Indian partner for this project,” the official tells Aviation Week. The first aircraft is expected to be delivered in the next four to five years, after an official agreement is signed. The entire deal is estimated to be worth $2.5 billion to $3 billion.

 

The program is expected to boost manufacturing of transport aircraft in the country and bring in new business opportunities for Indian private players in the aviation market.

 

The twin-engine aircraft is planned to have a 6-8 ton payload capacity, cruise speed of 800 kph (500 mph) and a range of 2,500-2,700 km (1,600-1,700 mi.).

 

The IAF is estimated to be operating around 30 vintage Avro HS-748 aircraft, capable of carrying loads of up to 7 tons. The aircraft were inducted during the 1960s to transport both personnel and equipment.

 

State-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) will not participate in the project because it is busy with the licensed production of Su-30MKI fighters and upgrades of the Mirage, MiG-29 and Jaguar aircraft for the IAF, the official says. HAL also will be involved in the licensed production of India’s Multi Medium Range Combat Aircraft, once the deal for 126 jets is signed with France’s Dassault.

[Mustanghino]

prevedo un bagno di sangue tra i concorrenti, condito da mille ripensamenti da parte della committenza

[TT-1 Pinto]

Ripensamenti ....

 

India May Reconsider Avro Transport Replacement Plans ....

By Asia-Pacific Staff

Fonte: Aerospace Daily & Defense Report (AW&ST) .... January 03, 2014

 

NEW DELHI — An unprecedented competition announced by the Indian government to energize local private industry in aerospace manufacturing stands on a razor’s edge, with the country’s defense ministry contemplating opening participation to India’s monopolistic state-owned defense companies as well.

A $2.5 billion competition to replace the Indian air force’s (IAF) fleet of 56 vintage Hawker Siddley HS748 Avro medium transports was floated last year, specifically excluding state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) as an Indian contender.

But pressure from politicians and lobbyists may squelch that idea.

By March, Indian companies will need to submit proposals on how they plan to meet the requirement.

If the defense ministry alters the competition, it will land a major blow to a private sector that has long decried preferential treatment and unfair rules for state-owned corporations.

The defense ministry wants a foreign airframer to identify an Indian production partner or consortium (which can include HAL, but not HAL alone) to which it will transfer technology to build 40 of the 56 aircraft at a local production line.

The first 16 aircraft will be supplied in flyaway condition by the original equipment manufacturer. India’s minister for heavy industries protested in a letter last November, and the ministry announced it would study his concerns.

Meanwhile, the ministry postponed the last date for submission of proposals from Dec. 8, 2013, to March 8, 2014.

Private industry is deeply worried that a reissue of the original request for proposals with participation restrictions expunged would kill the very spirit of the competition.

India’s top private industry trade groups have raised sharp concerns.

“Revisiting the program, at this advanced stage, will not only stall this project but also discourage [the] private sector to proactively invest in the defense sector,” says the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in a letter to Indian Defense Minister A.K. Antony.

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) issued a similar missive to the minister.

The IAF is itself opposing changes to the RFP, given that it has long sought to develop new sources of aerospace equipment beyond HAL.

A troubled relationship with HAL has strengthened the IAF’s resolve to provide a genuine opportunity for the Indian private sector to step up and move beyond the rut of supplying subsystems, spares and aggregates.

Retired air force officers are also weighing in, including one who was until recently a part of the acquisition process.

In a column published in The Indian Express, Air Vice Marshal Manmohan Bahadur, now with the ministry-governed Center For Air Power Studies (CAPS) think tank, writes, “If we opt out now, our private industry, vibrant in other fields, will never take root in the defense sector.”

Bahadur adds that the decision to exclude HAL from the competition was vetted at the defense ministry’s highest levels.

The IAF’s 1960s-vintage Avro transports, once workhorses in logistics duties, are in poor condition and need urgent replacement.

Apart from these, the IAF operates a mix of An-32, Il-76, and C-130J Super Hercules transports.

India recently signed a deal with the U.S. government for six more C-130Js.

 

Link .... http://www.aviationweek.com/Article.aspx?id=/article-xml/asd_01_03_2014_p01-01-651298.xml

[Mustanghino]

ma quanto sono bravo a fare il veggente quando mi ci impegno

[TT-1 Pinto]

Chi si loda .... con tutto quel che segue ....