Boeing submits 2 proposals on helicopters to Air Force

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New Delhi: The USbased Boeing Company has submitted two proposals to the Indian Air Force (IAF), offering the AH-64D Apache and the CH-47F Chinook for India’s attack and heavy-lift helicopter competitions.

The proposals are in response to bids sought by India from global helicopter manufacturers to supply Indian air Force (IAF) with 22 combat helicopters and 15 heavy-lift helicopters. The total cost of the acquisition is estimated at $550 million. The contract is expected to take two years to finalize. The vendor will be expected to provide a 30% offset.

In an effort to phase out its ageing fleet of helicopters India is seeking 22 attack helicopters and 15 transport helicopters and has not set a date to announce the winning proposals.

“If selected, Boeing will build the Apache helicopters at its rotorcraft facility in Mesa, Ariz and the Chinook helicopters at its rotorcraft center in Ridley Park, Pennsylvania, “ the company said Vivek Lall, vice-president and India country head for Boeing Integrated Defense Systems.

In an official release of the Boeing company, “The Apache will be a capable and lethal defender of India’s troops and assets, while the Chinook will answer many of the country’s military and humanitarian needs.”

This is the second time India has issued a tender for attack helicopters. The RFP for attack helicopters from foreign vendors has a chequered history with proposals from three suppliers being rejected earlier, as they failed to conform to specifications laid out in an RFP issued on 23 May 2008. When a technical evaluation of the proposals revealed lack of compliance, the RFP was withdrawn on 9 March 2009 and a fresh RFP issued on 25 May 2009.

Attack helicopter manufacturers such as Russia’s Kamov and Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant, Italy’s AgustaWestland, a unit of Finmeccanica SpA, and Textron Inc.’s Bell Helicopter unit earlier expressed interest in the deal.

Both Boeing and Bell helicopter had pulled out of the original tender as the IAF wanted to buy directly from the manufacturer, but the US wanted it to be a government-to-government deal, defence ministry officials had said earlier.

Sikorsky Aircraft, a unit of United Technologies Corp., also plans to bid to sell heavy-lift helicopters, its India and South Asia managing director, AJS Walia, had said in February during the Aero India in Bangalore.

Eurocopter, the helicopter-manufacturing unit of European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co., had pitched its Tiger attack helicopter for the tender.