After scrapping the Indian military’s effort to procure light helicopters for the second time in August, the third iteration of the now infamous Reconnaissance & Surveillance Helicopter (RSH) has just begun. On Friday October 31, the Indian Army published a fresh request for information (RFI) on behalf of itself and the Indian Air Force throwing open the jinxed contest for the third time now to ‘urgently replace the fleet of existing Cheetah and Chetak helicopters with suitable helicopters of modern design’.
The new procurement attempt (necessitated by the scrapping of the earlier one by the incoming government that balked at the proposition of buying nearly 200 helicopters straight off a foreign production line) looks to induct helicopters off an Indian production line. The Friday RFI says, ‘This Request for Information (RFI) is being issued with the aim of identifying probable INDIAN VENDORS (including an Indian company forming joint venture/ establishing production arrangement with OEM) who can provide the helicopters followed by licensed production/ indigenous manufacture in the country.’ (I didn’t upper-case ‘INDIAN VENDORS’, FYI.)
The official day/night mission profile of the new helicopters has been set out as: (a) Reconnaissance and Surveillance, including armed reconnaissance. (b) Direction of Artillery Fire. (c) Carry small body of troops/Quick Reaction Teams for special missions. (d) Aerial Photography. (e) Scout role in conjunction with Attack Helicopter. (f) Airborne Forward Air Controller (FAC), if required. (g) Casualty Evacuation. (h) NBC monitoring. (j) Platform for ESM, ECM and ECCM etc. (k) Provide dynamic response during aid to civil authorities.
Significantly, the RFI doesn’t stipulate number of engines required, but asks vendors to specify if they will field single or twin engine platforms. There is also nothing in the RFI to suggest that the earlier requirement of 197 helicopters has changed.
The operative portion of the RFI on production is this one: ‘It is envisaged that initial few quantities of helicopters will be supplied in fully formed condition. Further manufacture of helicopters by the vendor within the country in keeping with the requirement of 30% indigenous content is envisaged within 3-4 years after the contract is signed. Vendor to indicate specifically the earliest timeframe within which it can meet this requirement? If not, what is the earliest timeframe in which the vendor can commence delivering the helicopters manufactured within the country. Vendor to also indicate as to what is the annual production capability it can achieve in keeping with the above requirement?’
Shiv heard of "Four 3,500 t Multi Purpose Support Vessels (MPVs) " in make in india category.
Anon @ 8.06PM: Yes. The Navy needs them for torpedo and RPV tests etc. They've needed them for a while now.
Our respected service chiefs are a bunch of asnine jokers for allowing this farce to be replayed. What prevents them to go and place an order for 50 such choppers immediately as a stop gap measure – just for the boys in siachin if nothing else.
Defence chiefs needs to put the foot down for the sake of country security.
Why not HAL Dhruv?
Hi Shiv,
Can you pls. give update about Indian long range cruise missile project?
Air Marshal K. J. Mathews died on May 7 2014 at a young age just as the voting in the 2014 elections was ending. He was killed by RAW for following up my suggestion to emplace India’s nuclear warheads in Washington and New York to be exploded with the warning that additional U.S. cities will be destroyed if there is any retaliation or sign of retaliation. Indira and Rajiv Gandhi were both killed by RAW for the same reason — showing my influence. Manmohan Singh on Mathews’ death : “Over the last few years, he had worked closely with my office, and had made an exceptional contribution to numerous projects of immense national importance. I am particularly impressed by his professionalism , dedication and personal warmth. His absence will be sorely felt”, he said [UNI] . The “numerous projects of immense national importance” were the emplacement of India’s nuclear warheads in Washington, New York and other U.S. cities. I had urged the simultaneous nuclear destruction of Washington, New York and RAW headquarters. India cannot be liberated unless RAW is destroyed. Air Marshal Mathews neglected to do that despite my urging. Will Lt. Gen. Amit Sharma destroy RAW or will he rather die like Mathews? It requires obeying my orders, not the politicians’.
This is a post I made a couple years ago:-
"Posted by SatishChandra on Jan 12,2011 20:34 PM
Stealth or no-stealth, 5th generation or 4th generation, fighter aircraft are as obsolete for India's defence as bows and arrows. They can be used against neighbors such as Pakistan and China but the United States is EVERYBODY'S neighbor. It has already invaded and occupied Afghanistan, a part of traditional India and will expand its occupation to the rest of the subcontinent. I am India's expert in strategic defence and the father of India's strategic program including the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program. The U.S. invasion of Afghanistan means the coast-to–coast destruction of the U.S. by India; see my blog titled 'Nuclear Supremacy for India Over U.S.', which can be found by a Yahoo search with the title, for what India needs to do. Russia and other white countries are U.S. allies. These are the enemies to destroy. All other enemies will be taken care of automatically. Conventional arms are worthless for destroying the United States. Nuclear arms to destroy the United States with a FIRST STRIKE — this is the key — are cheap and easy to produce with technology India already has. All the money earmarked for fighter aircraft etc., and more, must be pumped into research, development and production of missiles able to deliver India's nuclear warheads — in the thousands — to the continental United States. India's missile scientists & engineers should have tested such missiles to their full range decades ago — everything else, including short and intermediate range missiles and missile defence, is secondary and tertiary — but have not done that because of prohibitions by India's C.I.A.-controlled governments. This must be done on a war footing after first destroying RAW through which the C.I.A. rules India; see my blog. Satish Chandra"
Since I wrote the above India's nuclear warheads have been emplaced in Washington, New York and other U.S. cities to destroy Washington and New York (with a signal from anywhere in the world with a warning that additional U.S. cities will be destroyed if there is any retaliation or sign of retaliation.
Satish Chandra
Shiv check (verify) it ASAP
"DRDO requested the availability of trial platform ship (INS Sharda) for installing the equipment for sea trials in early 2014. The ship was made available in mid 2014 and DRDO installed one complete system on the ship."
"http://www.defproac.com/?p=1413"
and kick out this Satish Chandra ASAP
"DRDO requested the availability of trial platform ship (INS Sharda) for installing the EQUIOMENT for sea trials in early 2014."
Equipment => Advanced Light Towed Array Sonar (ALTAS)
This lunatic Shatish Chandra is back again!!!
Make in India pitch gets the boost. What is seen today is sloganeering but no action.
This Satish is as hilarious like Pak's Jahil Hamid