The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has issued a Request For Proposal (RFP) for 48 Jet Pack suits. The RFP is being made as an emergency procurement through the Fast Track Procedure (FTP) under the Buy Indian Category. The indigenous content requirement is greater or equal to 60% if it has at least 50% indigenous design. The RFP highlights that the Jet Packs will be delivered at COD Agra.
The warranty period is three years after completing the Joint Receipt Inspection (JRI), while the CMC is five years after the three-year warranty. The Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) amount is Rs 70 lakh. January 27 is the last day to submit pre-bid queries, while the date and time of the pre-bid meeting are on 31 January 2023. The later date to submit the bid as stipulated in the RFP is February 7.
The RFP states that the government has invited responses only from Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) or Authorised Vendors or Government Sponsored Export Agencies (applicable in the case of countries where domestic laws do not permit direct export by OEM). The end users of these Jet Pack suits are the Indian Armed Forces.
The service life and shelf life should be at least a decade for these Jet Pack suits. “The Bidder is required to give details of the reliability model, reliability prediction and its validation by designer/manufacturer to ensure the reliability of stores throughout Service/shelf life. The efficacy of the reliability model/prediction/validation would be verified during technical and environmental evaluation,” the RFP highlights.
The RFP highlights the training of the crew as required, “A training package for the exercise of operators and operator trainers to undertake the operation of equipment and training of quality assurance personnel for QA of equipment would be required to be carried out in English language and in Hindi if needed. This training shall give the operators the necessary knowledge and skills to operate. The block, the syllabus and details of the movement to be conducted are to be decided by the Directorate General of Infantry (Inf-7) and the vendor.
The bidder will define the syllabus in consultation with the Buyer at the time of the Contract Negotiation Committee (CNC). All training requirements such as training aids, projection system, complete equipment with accessories/options, technical literature, spares, test equipment/test set-up, charts, training handouts, powerpoint presentations, computer-based training (CBT), documentation, simulators etc. will be catered by the bidder.“
The bidder is expected to demonstrate the jetpack suit on a “No Cost, No Commitment” basis with one unit. The technical specifications are as follows: the system’s total weight (excluding the human) must not exceed 40 kilograms. It must have features for a safe take-off, flight and landing post-training of the user.
The jet pack suit should have a modern propulsion system, including turbine engines/electric and hybrid systems. The maximum speed should be at least 50 kilometres per hour. The payload capacity should be at least 80 Kg. The jet pack’s flight time should be eight minutes of flight time.
The jet pack suits should be capable of operating in temperatures ranging between a minimum of -150C to -100C and a maximum between 400C to 450C. The operational altitude should be up to 3000 meters. The equipment should operate satisfactorily in plains, mountains, deserts and high-altitude areas up to 3000m.
The suit should be capable of being stored in weatherproof packages and be capable of being transported by land, sea or air as required. The equipment should have adequate securing straps on the body for safe flight. The jet pack should preferably be black and have a helmet of suitable safety standards.
