ID :
24710
Wed, 10/15/2008 - 19:58
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/24710
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U.S. companies quit I.A.F.`s attack helicopter bids
New Delhi, Oct 15 (PTI) Two U.S. chopper manufacturers, Bell and Boeing, have opted out of the Indian Air Force's (I.A.F.) tenders for attack helicopters, giving a severe blow to India's effort to get six global companies to participate in the bids.
"The U.S. companies have refused to submit their bids for two very different reasons and have already explained their decision to the Indian defence top brass," a Defence Ministry official said here Wednesday.
India had released the tenders -- Request for Proposals (R.F.P.) in defence parlance -- in May this year for 22 combat helicopters to augment its fleet of around 30 Mi-25 and Mi-35 attack helicopters.
Of the six global players asked to submit their bids
within three months, India received proposals from the Russian
Kamov and Mil, Italian-British AgustaWestland and French
Eurocopter.
Boeing, after showing initial interest in the bids,
refused to submit it later, as it wanted more time to prepare
a concrete proposal meeting all qualitative requirements of
I.A.F.
It sought an eight-week extension of the deadline,
originally set for August 23 this year. However, the Defence
Ministry refused to provide such a long time, considering that
India wanted to complete the procurement of the 22 attack
helicopters before May 2011.
The government, on receiving the request from Boeing
first agreed to extend the deadline by another 30 days to
reset the last date for submission of the bids in September.
But Boeing, examining the R.F.P. requirements, realised
that it required more time to be able to send an adequate
response and decided to withdraw from the competition, Defence
Ministry officials said.
"The company studied the government's request seriously
and thoroughly, and we also sent representatives for
pre-bidder's conference in New Delhi with our AH-64 Apache
helicopter in mind as a probable platform," Boeing officials
said.
"However, after reviewing I.A.F.'s attack chopper's
R.F.P., Boeing concluded that it will not be able to prepare a
fully compliant proposal that addresses India's unique
requirements with the allotted time. This was difficult, but a
necessary decision to keep our standards high," they said.
Bell Helicopters, on the other hand, withdrew its
participation, realising that its offering of AH-1Z Cobra
attack helicopter was available for exports only through
Foreign Military Sales route.
But, India had insisted in the R.F.P. that it would
procure the chopper directly from the company and not through
the government route.
With the bids closing, India is now pursuing proposals
received for Italian-British AgustaWestland's AW129, European
consortium Eurocopter's Tiger, Russian Kamov's Ka-50 and Mil's
Mi-28. PTI
"The U.S. companies have refused to submit their bids for two very different reasons and have already explained their decision to the Indian defence top brass," a Defence Ministry official said here Wednesday.
India had released the tenders -- Request for Proposals (R.F.P.) in defence parlance -- in May this year for 22 combat helicopters to augment its fleet of around 30 Mi-25 and Mi-35 attack helicopters.
Of the six global players asked to submit their bids
within three months, India received proposals from the Russian
Kamov and Mil, Italian-British AgustaWestland and French
Eurocopter.
Boeing, after showing initial interest in the bids,
refused to submit it later, as it wanted more time to prepare
a concrete proposal meeting all qualitative requirements of
I.A.F.
It sought an eight-week extension of the deadline,
originally set for August 23 this year. However, the Defence
Ministry refused to provide such a long time, considering that
India wanted to complete the procurement of the 22 attack
helicopters before May 2011.
The government, on receiving the request from Boeing
first agreed to extend the deadline by another 30 days to
reset the last date for submission of the bids in September.
But Boeing, examining the R.F.P. requirements, realised
that it required more time to be able to send an adequate
response and decided to withdraw from the competition, Defence
Ministry officials said.
"The company studied the government's request seriously
and thoroughly, and we also sent representatives for
pre-bidder's conference in New Delhi with our AH-64 Apache
helicopter in mind as a probable platform," Boeing officials
said.
"However, after reviewing I.A.F.'s attack chopper's
R.F.P., Boeing concluded that it will not be able to prepare a
fully compliant proposal that addresses India's unique
requirements with the allotted time. This was difficult, but a
necessary decision to keep our standards high," they said.
Bell Helicopters, on the other hand, withdrew its
participation, realising that its offering of AH-1Z Cobra
attack helicopter was available for exports only through
Foreign Military Sales route.
But, India had insisted in the R.F.P. that it would
procure the chopper directly from the company and not through
the government route.
With the bids closing, India is now pursuing proposals
received for Italian-British AgustaWestland's AW129, European
consortium Eurocopter's Tiger, Russian Kamov's Ka-50 and Mil's
Mi-28. PTI
