One representative of an MMRCA 2.0 competitor said, “The process is so elaborate, difficult and expensive. If you’re permitting cheating, at least have the decency to not make the rest of us work so hard.” “Just the thought of it being tailored to one of the contestant would discredit the whole idea of a competitive bidding process,” said another.
The most substantial challenge in the formulation of the RFP for 110 fighter aircraft is the incorporation of the industrial cooperation program under Chapter 07 of the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP), something that has never actually been implemented in any form before.
Even after two decades since the acquisition case, the Very Short Range Air Defence (VSHORAD) search has seen a system absent from trials and failing trials, being passed as technically compliant and ending up as, apparently, the cheapest. Also problematic is the difficulty its purchase could pose by provoking U.S. sanctions under their CAATSA.
The agreement opens the door to making standard communications systems onboard U.S. platforms available for acquisition by the Indian armed forces by mandating the security of these systems by both countries.
The joint statement said, “The Ministers committed to start exchanges between the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) and the Indian Navy.” NAVCENT is part of CENTCOM and, both, the NAVCENT and the U.S. Fifth Fleet are headquartered in Manama, Bahrain with a common commander.
The proposed transfer of F-16 wing production from Israel to India is not contingent on an order from the Indian Air Force (IAF) according to Lockheed Martin.
The Indian Navy has increased the mandatory tenure of captains to eight years before officers can be eligible for promotion to the rank of commodore. As a result of this, captains in the navy will spend an additional three years in the rank – up from the existing five-year tenure, before they are eligible to being considered for promotion to commodore.
We examine lessons learned from the MMRCA contest and look at seven ways to derisk the process to prevent a repeat of the result in the earlier MMRCA competition.
The Centurion composite vest claims a weight reduction of 35-40% and is based on Honeywell’s Spectra fibre, which it says is 15 times stronger than steel, weight for weight.
Updated: MMRCA 2.0 will be a repeat of the MMRCA contest with the same six aircraft: F/A-18 Super Hornet Block III, MiG-35, F-16 Block 70, Gripen E, Eurofighter and Rafale.
General Rawat’s comments were critical of OFB’s products and were made with reference to a recent controversy over changes in rules for the supply of uniforms to troops.
The list of 51 items proposed consists of a range of equipment and includes fighter aircraft, amphibian aircraft, tanks, artillery, small arms among others.
Lockheed Martin’s Vivek Lall welcomed the IAF’s open contest for 110 fighter aircraft and explained why he thinks the F-16 makes a good case for India.
Find out exactly what Lockheed Martin is offering for the F-16 Block 70 to India, the only F-16 concept to feature both drogue as well as receptacle refueling, plus Auto GCAS, besides other Indian-spec requirements.
Shashanka Nanda explains why it’s tricky for Kim Jong-un to visit Mongolia or Singapore by train for the U.S.-North Korea Summit. Short version: Very long, very complicated and perhaps not possible.
