Indian government cancels tender for 22 military helicopters

Indian government has cancelled a tender for 22 attack helicopters. The deal, with three firms, has failed to meet the requirements of the Indian Air Force. The contenders for the deal included Eurocopter, AgustaWestland and Rosoboronexport, bidding on behalf of Russian manufacturer Mil. European aerospace group EADS said the request for the proposal has been cancelled. But it did not give any reason for the scrapping of the defence purchase tender.EADS, which owns Eurocopter, the world's largest civil helicopter maker and a major supplier of military helicopters such as the Tiger, had hoped to clinch the deal worth around $1 billion. India, which currently relies on an ageing fleet of Russian MI-25 and MI-35 helicopter gunships designed by Russia's Mil, plans to overhaul and replace its fleet amid growing security risks in the region. Last year, India sought bids for new attack helicopters designed to assault targets on the ground operating at high altitudes, from seven international firms. While US companies Boeing and Bell, a unit of Textron, had quit the field, Europter, Westland and Mil remained in the race.India had, in 2007, scrapped advanced talks with Eurocopter for acquiring 197 lightweight Fennec military helicopters worth $600 million after complaints about the bidding process. The defence ministry is expected to float fresh tenders for procuring the advanced attack helicopters. Eurocopter, the world's leading helicopter manufacturer, meanwhile, said it fully met its 2008 objectives for helicopter sales and deliveries and increased its turnover by 7.5 per cent.