First tender out for attack helicopters, US giants can now bid too

He new UPA government has issued its first defence tender to procure attack helicopters for the IAF. The tender, estimated at $600 million, was issued to five vendors on Monday, hours after A K Antony assumed charge as Defence Minister for the second consecutive term.

The IAF is looking for 22 twin-engine attack helicopters to replace its ageing fleet of Russian-origin Mi-35s. The Request for Proposals (RFP) have been sent to five vendors — Italian AgustaWestland, US companies Boeing and Bell, the Russian Khazan and the European consortium Eurocopter.

While the tenders were first issued in May 2008, the procurement process had been cancelled earlier this year after the two US companies opted out as they did not get adequate time to seek permission from Washington to take part in the contract.

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Balloon-mounted radars from Israel to help Navy monitor the coastline

The Indian Navy is set to acquire two aerostat radars from Israel to fill vital gaps in the coastal security setup in the aftermath of the Mumbai attack. This is the first time the Navy will operate the balloon-mounted air defence radars that have a detection range of over 500 km and can track low-flying aircraft.

The Navy has also started price negotiations to purchase close to 300 missiles for its Barak ship air defence systems after it was given the go-ahead to deal with Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defence Systems Ltd that has been under the CBI scanner for alleged kick backs during the NDA regime.

Sources said the Navy will shortly sign a deal to acquire two EL/M-2083 Aerostat radars, which are already in service with the air force, from Israel. While the acquisition was on the Navy’s shopping list for a long time, it was accelerated by the government after the Mumbai attack.

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