New Delhi: Much against the wishes of the Indian Air Force (IAF), the Defence Ministry has decided that only state-owned monopoly Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) will meet the service's future basic trainer requirements through its HTT-40 trainer, which is still under development.
However, to meet the Air Force's immediate needs, until the homemade HTT-40 is inducted, MoD has ordered another 38 Swiss-made Pilatus PC-7 Mark-IIs to top the 75 ordered by the outgoing government in 2012.
The Air Force wanted to buy only the Pilatus and put the HTT-40 project on hold, said an Air Force official.
The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), the top weapon purchasing body in the MoD, ordered 38 additional Pilatus trainers at its Feb. 28 meeting at a cost of $250 million by exercising the additional purchase clause tied to the original order of 75 trainers in 2012. But the service's remaining trainer needs will be met through the HTT-40, the DAC ruled.
07/03/15 Vivek Raghuvanshi/DefenseNews
However, to meet the Air Force's immediate needs, until the homemade HTT-40 is inducted, MoD has ordered another 38 Swiss-made Pilatus PC-7 Mark-IIs to top the 75 ordered by the outgoing government in 2012.
The Air Force wanted to buy only the Pilatus and put the HTT-40 project on hold, said an Air Force official.
The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), the top weapon purchasing body in the MoD, ordered 38 additional Pilatus trainers at its Feb. 28 meeting at a cost of $250 million by exercising the additional purchase clause tied to the original order of 75 trainers in 2012. But the service's remaining trainer needs will be met through the HTT-40, the DAC ruled.
07/03/15 Vivek Raghuvanshi/DefenseNews
No comments:
Post a Comment