Indian Military Aircraft Briefs

--Procurement of Aircraft > A response to the Request for Proposal (RFP) relating to procurement of 126 aircraft for the Indian Air Force issued on August 27, 2007 has been received from six vendors. The technical evaluation of the proposal is presently underway.> This will be followed by field trials and subsequently commercial negotiations culminating in conclusion of the contract after the approval of the competent authority.> This information was given by Defence Minister Shri AK Antony in a written reply to Smt Karuna Shukla and Shri Chandra Mani Tripathi in Lok Sabha today.>>> --Manufacturing of Defence Aircraft by HAL> HAL has received an order for supply of seven Advanced Light Helicopters to Ecuador during 2008-09. The helicopters will be delivered in three years time.> No export order for defence aircraft has been received by HAL during 2007-08.> This information was given by Minister of State for Defence Production Rao Inderjit Singh in a written reply to Shri Kishanbhai V Patel and others in Lok Sabha today.>>> --Defence Collaboration for Development of UAV > The Government has allowed the Aeronautical Development Establishment to co-opt a partner from the Indian Industry to join in the development and production of the Rs. 1,000 crore indigenous medium altitude long endurance Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) programme.> In order to reduce the time for design, development and subsequent Transfer of Technology to the Industry for bulk production of Medium Altitude Long Endurance UAV, Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) has been authorized to associate with a Production And Development Partner (PADP) from eligible Indian Industries on a competitive basis. The PADP would work with DRDO during the design and development phase and absorb technologies. They would become the System Integrator and provide product support after induction.