Indian Coast Guard tender gets off the ground

Indian Coast Guard tender gets off the ground

13-Sep-2011 Source: HeliHub.com

The Indian Coast Guard is progressing its tender for 12 helicopters, with three bids received by the cut-off date.  The three are

  • Sikorsky offering the S76
  • OSS Air, working with AgustaWestland and their AW109
  • Indocopter, working with Eurocopter

The latter two are their tied manufacturers’ local representatives.  The tender calls for the helicopters to be initially leased for 3-5 years, but the expectation is that this will be extended a lot further.  There is even talk of the fleet of 12 being raised to 30 in time.

Now in the evaluation stage for the next three months, the Coast GUard project is also being viewed by other military agencies in India who are also looking at leasing.  In the past, Indian forces have preferred outright purchase but protracted delays in procurement has opened up the lease option.

An earlier plan to lease eight helicopters wasn cancelled by the Indian MoD in 2010 on grounds that the lease was too expensive.

Jeremy Parkin – HeliHub.com

, , , , , , , , , , ,

Copyright © 2024 HeliHub

Website by Design Inc

Helihub logo

X