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For quite some time the rumour mill had it that the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) was going to scrap the $550 million tender for 22 attack helicopters. Earlier today this rumour was confirmed.

According to a spokesman the tender had to be cancelled since 'the remaining three companies still participating in the tender were unable to meet the requirements of the tender'.

"The Request for Proposals (RFP) for the 22 attack helicopters have been retracted and cancelled, as the three offers received from foreign defence companies did not meet the Staff Qualitative Requirements set by the government,”

The spokesman also clarified that other tenders such as the $1.5 billion tender for 384 light utility helicopters are not affected by this cancellation.

The cancellation is widely seen as being of direct benefit to Boeing and its AH-64D Apache Longbow helicopter with the new tender being seen as giving Boeing a second chance to participate.

India began a competition in May 2008, to procure 22 attack helicopters for its air force as a replacement for the ageing Mil Mi-25 and Mi-35 fleets.

Boeing image. Copyright Boeing Company

India requested a 2.5 tonne twin-engined copter with all-weather, day and night operations, and all-terrain ability. The helicopter is be highly manoeuvrable, able to deploy 20mm turret guns, rockets, air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles, able to employ air-to-ground, fire-and-forget mode missiles with a range of at least seven kilometres (4.375 miles), equipped with anti-armour capabilities and be capable of operating at high altitudes such as in the mountainous borders India shares with Pakistan, Afghanistan and China in the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir. Specifications suiting the Boeing AH-64D Apache Longbow to a tee.

With a budget unit price of $25 million, the contract called for the first two helicopters to be delivered within two years of contract signing with completion of the contract within three years.

Initially seven companies participated the tender:

1. Agusta Westland AW129,
2. Bell AH-1Z SuperCobra,
3. Boeing AH-64D Apache Longbow,
4. Eurocopter Tiger HAD,
5. Kamov Ka-50,
6. Mil Mi-28 NE
7. Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) Light Combat Helicopter.

By the final leg only Agusta-Westland, Eurocopter and Mil were left in the fray, Bell and Boeing quit the race, Kamov and HAL did not qualify.

Since Bell, ceased production of the AH-1Z Cobra it withdrew. Boeing had requested a two month extension last August to submit a proposal that met all the requirements of the Indian Air Force (IAF) which was denied, upon which Boeing refused to submit a proposal.

The MoD spokesman said that a new tender will be announced soon since the air force aims to modernising the service by the middle of the next decade, but this tender cancellation will definitely delay the 2010 target date of the IAF to begin with the deployment of the new attack helicopters.

Observers and analysts of the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) are completely baffled. No one has been able to arrive at a conclusive logical explanation for the MoD actions.

By maintaining that the three remaining helicopters do not meet their qualitative requirements the MoD effectively implies that their requirements were (a) unrealistic, or more likely (b) tailored for a specific model that did not made it to the short list.

Clues to the second option being the real reason come from the fact that there is only one in-service helicopter-launched fire-and-forget mode missile WITH a 7 kilometre range in the world today -- the AGM-114L Longbow Hellfire; which is equipped on the Boeing AH-64D Longbow Apache.

One can safely surmise that the Indian Air Force brass was not happy that the Apache Longbow was no longer in the competition. This move to cancel the ongoing tender and start afresh is clearly intended to give Boeing a second chance. The outcome of the new “tender” appears to be already clear.

Not that I am complaining. Reading about the experiences of the Apache Longbows in Iraq, I have always felt that a squadron of these supremely deadly helicopters, with their armour, chain-gun and night-vision capabilities, would be more than enough to solve the problem of terrorists sneaking over the border from Pakistan to India.

India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is carrying out a two-week second phase weapon testing trials of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas at an Air Force base in the north-western sector.

As per DRDO officials

"The focus of the current phase of testing is safe separation and accuracy of weapon delivery. The results from the tests would validate aerodynamic interference data as well as complex weapon release algorithms in different modes of release,"

A composite test team comprising of specialists from Aeronautical Development Agency, Indian Air Force (IAF), Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd., and other aerospace agencies is also at the base to evaluate the performance of the aircraft.



DRDO has also linked the air base with the base station at Bangalore enabling designers and other specialists to monitor the activities in real time. In parallel the trials are using the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) GPS Radiosonde to gather accurate upper air data at the trial location.

The first of seven squadrons of LCA's are expected to be delivered to the Indian Air Force by December 2010. PTI.

On February 9th, there was a near miss incident at Mumbai airport which involved the President of India.

The Indian Air Force is at the receiving end of an article by 737 instructor pilot Captain A. Ranganathan, who complains that poor navigation, lack of communication with the control tower and non-conformation with procedures on the part of the navy pilots operating the helicopters, one of which had the the President of India on board, could have resulted in a major disaster in Mumbai.

What is utterly appalling is that the man who saved the situation, the air traffic controller, is the one facing the heat now, while both the pilots involved in the incident have got away scot-free.

The Air Chief Marshall of the Indian Air Force has gone on record to state that the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has to set his house in order. What has angered a lot of people in the civil aviation community is the fact that he said this in front of international media, maintained that his pilots were the best and made no mistakes, when the tape transcripts from the ATC clearly show the helicopter pilots in poor light.

The question on everyone's mind is whether the DGCA has the political guts to counter the Air Chief Marshall. The facts show the Air Force had not used the helicopters that were designated for the flight. They did not follow procedures. They did not use the mandatory safety equipment like the Transponders and TCAS (if they were fitted with them). They did not comply with ATC instructions........and they did this with the President of India on board!!!!!

Read the full article here.

February 9, 2009, 10:00 IST (04:30 GMT)

TV channels are reporting that an Air India Airbus A321 performing flight IC866 was involved in a rejected take-off/near miss at Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport earlier this morning.

The flight had commenced its take-off run, when a helicopter which was given permission to land, strayed across the runway to land on the helipad. On sighting the helicopter the flight crew of IC866, rejected the take-off, applying emergency braking.

All passengers on board, estimated at 148 are safe. The tires of the aircraft require changing which is being done right now.

Initially it appears a fault of the air traffic control, which appears to have given permission to the helicopter to land, while at the same time, giving permission to the Air India flight to take-off.

Update 1 - 10:55 IST (05:25 GMT)

The shocker. The army helicopter was part a three helicopter convoy of Indian President Pratibha Patil.

The presidential convoy was conveying the President from the Governor's mansion, The Raj Bhavan, along with the top most leadership of the state of Maharashtra, to the airport. Due to security procedures, it is unknown whether the President was on board the chopper which strayed on to the runway.

Clearly a major mishap has been avoided, and there is bound to be a major investigation.

Information from aviation experts indicate the plane was at V-1 speed (around 100 knots). This is why the plane was able to perform a "rejected take-off", with the autobrake system kicking in. In another few seconds, the plane would have crossed the V-2 threshold, at which point the aircraft is travelling just to fast for it to stop on the runway. That would have surely resulted in a disaster of epic proportions.

The wheels of the Airbus A321 aircraft jammed after the rejected take-off, and the aircraft tyres burst due to the excess heat caused by the emergency braking. It has been taken back to the terminal. The passengers have been dis-embarked and are in the terminal. Arrangements for an alternate aircraft are being made.

Update 2 - 13:25 IST (07:55 GMT)

A Mumbai Airport official told news agencies.

"At around 09.00 hrs today, an Air Force chopper landed on the same runway from which Air India flight IC 866 (with 150 passengers on board) was taking off for Delhi, forcing the pilot of the plane to abort take off at the last minute,"

However there is some confusion. News reports claim

the Air India aircraft was taxiing to reach the main runway for the take off when the Air Traffic Control talked to the pilot regarding the helicopter. The pilot applied the brake to bring the aircraft to a halt

Whereas, all reports indicate a high speed take-off reject, resulting in the nose wheel tyre blowing out, indicating the pilot had commenced the take-off run and was not taxiing.

Credit is being given to the alertness of Captain SS Kohli, pilot of IC 866, who aborted the take off. Captain Kohli said,

"The the chopper and our aircraft got the clearence from the ATC at the same time. The ATC had lost contact with the chopper."

"The chopper just landed without taking a landing clearance. I cannot say much more,"

Meanwhile, an official spokesperson of the President told news agencies that "Everything is perfectly fine. The President was attending her normal functions."

As per Timesnow TV.

A fleet of three helicopters including the one carrying Patil, along with Maharashtra Governor SC Jamir and some other dignitaries, had taken off from Mumbai's Naval base 'INS Kunjali' and were on their way to the airport since the President was to fly to Gondia by her special Indian Air Force Plane (IAF) plane to attend a function.

A probe into the incident has been ordered by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, the sources said. A senior DGCA official is coming from New Delhi to Mumbai to join the investigation, they said.

An IAF spokesman said, "the pilots of the chopper had followed the instructions from Bombay approach meliculously. The Presidential entourage was cleared to take off from INS Kunjali and land at Santa Cruz between two taxiways". An inquiry has been ordered by the IAF into the incident, he said.

While full information is not yet available, this appears to be the most likely situation based on past knowledge, historic traffic patterns, and information.



Update 3 - 17:00 IST (11:30 GMT)

The Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) released a statement at 16:10IST ((10:40 GMT)

Mumbai Airport, the busiest airport in India was witnessing heavy air traffic and operations today morning. The ATC Mumbai was aware of the Presidential visit and were watching the approach movement of the Presidential convoy of helicopters. At that time an aircraft of Air India was on the active runway-27. The ATC, noticing movement of the aircraft on the runway, asked the aircraft to immediately apply brakes and exit through the taxiway. The aircraft exited immediately and the helicopters landed safely.

Director General Civil Aviation has ordered an investigation of the incident under rule 77 and appointed Jt. DGCA as the Inquiry Officer for the purpose of carrying out the investigation. Jt. DGCA has reached Mumabi and started investigation proceedings.

Considering this incident involved the President of India, the poor controller on duty is in for a very rough time.

Update 4 - 20:00 IST (14:30 GMT)

The Air India aircraft is registration VT-PPF. An Airbus A321-211 construction number 3340, it did it first test flight on December 5, 2007, and was delivered by Airbus on December 14, 2007. It is powered by the CFM56-5B3/3 engines.

Image copyright Flickr user Pallav105

After a gap of 12 years, the Indian Air Force has deployed Mig 29 fighters to Hindon air base near New Delhi. This is the first time since 1996 that the base has reactivated for fighter aircraft operations after it was closed due to increasing bird activity near the base. At that time, MiG 27 were stationed there.

In 2006, the Indian Air Force certified Hindon for twin engine aircraft, and hence the Mig 29's have been deployed.

The action comes in the wake of intelligence reports warning of possible 9/11 like terror strikes. The deployment is on a "temporary basis" to tackle threat from any "rogue" aircraft.

The capital falls under the Western Air Command. Protection of New Delhi's skies was looked after by air bases in Amabala and Bareilly.

Three aircraft from Adampur and Halwara MiG 29 air bases in Punjab are present at the base.

The Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major confirmed that the Indian Air Force (IAF) has cleared the construction of the second runway at Bengaluru International Airport (BIA).

As per the BIAL master plan, the second runway (27L-09R), will come up to the south of the airport.

The promoters of the airport, BIAL, have been pushing for approval to cope with future demand.

BIAL had projected that passenger traffic at the airport, that is already running at capacity, will be around 11 to 12 million by 2011. Bangalore air traffic peaked at 10.1 million in March 2008, even before the new airport opened. BIAL’s proposal to put up a second runway to cope with the traffic ran into rough weather after the IAF stated that civilian aircraft could stray into the operational airspace at its Yelahanka air base that is just 1.4 nautical miles (4 km) from BIA.

BIAL CEO Albert Brunner, informed reporters, he was pleasantly surprised to learn of the development. “I was not aware of it. This is great news. I must say here that this has come as a big relief for us. We thank the Indian Air Force for its support. We need to work in close coordination with the IAF henceforth and we are hopeful that we can do that,” he said.

Asked how long BIAL will take to put up the second runway, Mr Brunner said: “The runway should be in place three to four years after starting construction. The second runway will be A-380 compliant.” A single air traffic control (ATC) is likely to handle both civilian and military aircraft, government sources said.

The approval of the second runway puts the ball back in BIAL's court. The pressure will be on the consortium to commence construction without delay.

After reading the below story in The Mint, I can only shake my head and say ..."oh no not again!!!".

Both Bengaluru International Airport (BIAL) and Air Force Station (AFS) Yelahanka are vital to Bangalore. AFS Yelahanka is the premier training facility for the Indian Air Force (IAF) transport wing, and home to the internationally renowned AeroIndia show, which brings in millions if not billions of dollars worth of aviation related business to Bangalore.

The IAF is naturally wary of AAI air traffic controllers giving preference to civilian flights and do not want to loose control of their airspace. Yet safety is important.

BIAL and IAF need to engage with each other, without resorting to the complications which will arise when ministries get involved. IAF and BIAL can do we a neutral intermediary outside government to help them thrash issues out and arrive at a consensus.

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Bial’s second runway proposal irks IAF
Tarun Shukla

The air force objects to proposed location of the runway, saying proximity to its airbase may affect operations

Bangalore’s new airport, already buffeted by a court case and controversy over closure of the city-side airport it replaced, has hit another roadblock ahead of a much-needed expansion.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has objected to the location of a proposed second runway saying it may be too close to its airbase nearby affecting operations.

A civil aviation ministry official termed IAF’s objections “unacceptable” and said it would be asked to re-examine its decision.

Among India’s top five airports by traffic, the new Bengaluru International Airport is facing public interest litigation in the Karnataka high court over alleged congestion during peak hours. The litigants, including a local citizens’ group in Bangalore, argue that a capital-intensive asset such as the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL)-run old airport, which has been closed for commercial traffic since late May, shouldn’t be allowed to close, especially given the long commute time to the new airport.

The new airport, run by Bangalore International Airport Ltd, or Bial, is some 30km north-east of Bangalore, and was predicated on the old airport not competing with it.

Over the past few months, under growing criticism, the civil aviation ministry had asked Bial to speed up the process of second phase of expansion and match the overcapacity gaps it found in a study of the new airport. This meant that Bial would need to create a temporary “express terminal” building next to the existing terminal before a new runway and terminal can come up to the south of the current runway.

Construction work for the new runway, Bial says, is expected to start in July and finish in about three-four years. Planning and design of the runway is under way.

Locating the new runway to the south of the airport campus, spread over 4,000 acres, will mean restrictions on planes using the new runway because their flight path may stray into the airspace reserved for IAF’s airbase at Yelahanka close by. The base is mostly used for helicopter training.

“...we cannot come to the south as four miles (from the existing runway) is Yelahanka airspace. What we are telling is that a runway closer to Yelahanka will mean further restrictions,” a senior air traffic control official at Airports Authority of India said, asking not to be identified.

Bangalore airspace has to be carefully managed, the official said, after three large airspace corridors have emerged in the city, short distance of each other: that of the Bial airport, the old HAL airport and the Yelahanka airbase. In addition, the city hosts an airstrip on its northern suburbs that handles private planes and hobby aviation enthusiasts.

Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation, or DGCA, had proposed that IAF shift its operations to the HAL airport, which is mostly unused except for charter, private and important aircraft movements.

But, IAF has rejected that request. “We are not shifting Yelahanka,” said vice chief of air staff air marshal P.V. Naik, adding IAF wanted the new runway, which will nearly double the capacity of the airport, to be built north of the existing one. The airport operator said it had been granted all clearances including those for the second runway as part of the original airport master plan finalized in 2004 but is currently in talks to arrive at a solution after the reservations made by IAF.

“The runways of the airbase at Yelahanka and those of our airport are absolutely parallel. Nevertheless, the air traffic management is coordinated. For this reason, (IAF) had worked out an integrated airspace management plan which was the basis for its NOC (no-objection certificate) for our project,” a Bial spokeswoman said.

Since its launch in May, the Bengaluru International Airport has had more than 2.42 million passengers pass through it and carriers such as Dragon Air, Tiger Airways, Oman Air and Air Mauritius have also started their operation recently.

The Union civil aviation ministry believes a new runway to the north of the airport is not feasible as it will require further acquisition of land. “Those (conditions) are not acceptable,” a ministry official, who did not wish to be quoted, said, adding the ministry is asking IAF to relook at its stance.