New Delhi, May 27: India has invited bids for two separate defence projects worth more than USD 2 billion to arm its air force, a defence official and the country head of Boeing Co said on Tuesday.
The Indian Air Force is seeking 22 attack helicopters and at least 15 heavy-lift helicopters as it plans to replace its aging Soviet-era fleet with modern weapon systems.
"Boeing has received the Request for Proposals (RFPs) for the attack and heavylift helicopters and will review the requirements," Vivek Lall, India country head of Boeing's Integrated Defense Systems (IDS) said.
The two RFPs were issued on Sunday and Tuesday, days after a new Congress-led coalition government was sworn in.
The government said it would prioritise defence and push forward pending projects to modernise its armed forces.
India is looking to spend more than USD 30 billion over the next five years to modernise its defence systems.
"We hope to hear from bidders soon on the two projects and speed up the procurement process," a defence ministry spokesman said.
Last June, India asked seven international companies to submit bids for supplying 22 attack helicopters, but the government cancelled the tender this March, saying the bidders did not meet requirements.
Boeing, which did not respond to that RFP for attack helicopters due to technical reasons, said it was keen to offer its Apache AH-64 helicopters this time around.
Separately, Boeing said it was also reviewing the other RFP to supply at least 15 heavy-lift helicopters to the air force.
Lall says the US plane maker was interested in offering its Chinook CH-47 to India.
"We believe that Boeing's Apache and Chinook can provide the Indian Air Force with the most capable, proven and versatile platforms in their respective class," Lall said in New Delhi on Tuesday.
India will also soon hold field trials for the purchase of 126 fighter planes in a USD 10.4 billion contract that is one of the world's biggest current arms deals.
Boeing's F/A-18 Super Hornet, France's Dassault Rafale, Lockheed Martin Corp's F-16, Russia's MiG-35, Sweden's Saab JAS-39 Gripen and the Eurofighter Typhoon, produced by a consortium of British, German, Italian and Spanish companies, are in the race for the lucrative fighter contract.
Bureau Report
First Published: Wednesday, May 27, 2009, 09:29