The Defence Ministry has made the decision to revise the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) manual to permit the private sector to collaborate with an Indian Defense PSU with a major stake and manufacture the required weapon system as part of a major push to “Atmanirbhar Bharat” in the military hardware sector.
The development and production of the “Indian Multi-Role Helicopter (IMRH), which will eventually replace all Russian-built Mi-17 and Mi-8 helicopters in the Indian military’s current inventory”, would serve as a test case for this collaboration, as per reports of South Block Officials. The IMRH, which will perform with the Indian armed services in air assault, air attack, anti-submarine, anti-ship, military transport, and VVIP tasks, will have a take-off weight of 13 tonnes.
According to reports, private Indian companies have already expressed a desire to take part in the project, and the Defense Ministry has instructed them to begin manufacture within the next seven years.
On July 8, 2022, “French Safran and Indian HAL already signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a new joint venture business to develop, produce, and provide support for the IMRH engine, along with the naval variant”.
The private sector enterprises would also be permitted to export 25% of their production to third countries, generating foreign cash for the nation, according to officials. The designed IMRH, which is scheduled to go into production over the next seven years, must be purchased by the Indian Armed Forces.
The private companies have also asked the Defence Ministry for a guarantee that the Indian military forces will buy the helicopter if it is produced within the next five years while cutting costs and man-hours.
The private limited company was given permission to buy a 51 percent ownership and form a joint venture with Indian PSUs as a result of the latter’s inability to complete projects on time and without incurring additional costs. The Modi government was left with little choice except to purchase the urgently needed machines from other nations through a tender or government-to-government method as a result of this delay.
“The first anti-submarine war Sirkorsky MH 60R Seahawk helicopters are anticipated to be delivered to the Indian Navy by the end of this year“, while the IMRH is anticipated to go into production within the next five to seven years.
Although San Diego Naval Station in the US has already sent the first two or three helicopters to the Indian Navy for training, “the remaining 21 helicopter deliveries will soon start in accordance with the USD 2.3 billion February 2020 agreement inked by both nations”.
image credit : wikimedia commons
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