Key Points
New Delhi:In a boost to the TATA-Airbus collaboration, the defence ministry Friday cleared the procurement of 15 additionalMedium Range Maritime Reconnaissance and Multi-Mission Maritime Aircraft, nine of which will go to the Indian Navy and six to the Indian Coast Guard (ICG)...
While the ministry did not name the aircraft, sources in the defence and security establishment said it is the C-295 aircraft which is being built in India under a collaboration between European major Airbus and TATA...
The ministry in a statement said the procurement, part of the deals worth Rs 84,560 crore that has been cleared, will be through the Buy and Make category and the project has been greenlighted for strengthening the surveillance and interdiction capabilities of the Navy and the ICG over the countrys vast maritime area.. ThePrint has reported from the very beginning that while the initial contract for the C-295 aircraft was only for 56, the numbers will go up..
However, while this deal was expected, the significant decision was taken during the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh-led Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) giving Acceptance of Necessity (AON), the first formal step, forprocurement of Flight Refueller Aircraft..
To beat the system, the IAF then proposed leasing the refuellers and, again, Airbus was the frontrunner but inability to fix the number of aircraft to be leased and the cost involved meant that even this plan did not go through...
