Navy plans to issue bid for over 120 multirole choppers

[Bhai Zakir]

35000 crore.... for just 120 choppers.... man thats too much money!!!

US$ 7 billion.

Indian military has been on a massive upgradation program of late...C-130's, Apaches, jets, tanks, howitzers, the whole lot!!!

As u have rightly said most of them are just upgradation so its just the latest and updated version of old stuffs.

But for a big and developing country like India these are very less as compared to the requirements.

 

[perplexed]

Fcuk me.. 35000 crores for helis.. WTF!!!

 

[Abingdonboy]

And the plot thickens.........

The IN's helo procurements are VERY confusing to me. In understand the need for the N-LUH, these are to replace the IN's Chetaks.


But then there seems to be 2 seperate requirements for replacments of the Sea King- 1 is the last stages of the contractual process and will be signed within the next few months- the S-70B is the front runner by all accounts. And then there is news of this MAMMOTH deal to, once again, find a replacment for the Sea King. i could understand if the on-going one was for just ASW platforms and this 120 one was for utility purposes but,no, it seems these 120 are also for ASW (in part)! Also it seems that this deal has balloned from a $4BN project for ~60 helos to a $7BN deal for 120.

I am glad the IN is looking to induce ~200 modern helos in the next 5 years- the IN's rotary-wing was a concern of mine for a while as the embarked helo is a part of the ship's systems so what's the point in having a cutting-edge $1BN USD Destroyer (P-15A) with a outdated Sea King in the hanger?


Great news though!!

 

[Water Car Engineer]

US$ 7 billion for 120 helicopters? Isn't that Pakistan's military budget right there?

 

[Abingdonboy]

Indian military has been on a massive upgradation program of late...C-130's, Apaches, jets, tanks, howitzers, the whole lot!!!

Well after decades of neglect India needs to spend colossal amounts to upgrade almost their entire military.

US$ 7 billion for 120 helicopters? Isn't that Pakistan's military budget right there?

And no, it isn't. Look it up.

 

[Skull and Bones]

WTF...looks like the reporter put an extra zero out of enthusiasm. $60 million for a helicopter is gross, and i thought $50 million for Apaches are overpriced.

 

[sancho]

And the plot thickens.........

The IN's helo procurements are VERY confusing to me. In understand the need for the N-LUH, these are to replace the IN's Chetaks.


But then there seems to be 2 seperate requirements for replacments of the Sea King- 1

Initially the idea was to replace all (IA, IAF, IN) Chetaks and Cheethas with one foreign and one indigenous LUH, but IN backed out of that deal and now it seems, that they want to replace them not with an LUH in the Fennec class, but with a Dhruv class light helicopter, that still offers the range and ASW capability, to be operated from naval vessels.
The second competition is the replacement of long range ASW helicopters, that's where NH90s and S70s come in and with all the carriers, LPDs and additional Frigats or destroyers coming in, that could be the biggest procurement. But as said, I think the article is mixing things up here and haven't we seen India media speculating a lot wrt to naval helicopters?

However for HAL this is a major hit, since IN not only rejected the naval Dhruv, but is denying any future interest of the HAL LUH and most likely won't have the need for a medium class helicopter anymore too.

 

[JanjaWeed]

WTF...looks like the reporter put an extra zero out of enthusiasm. $60 million for a helicopter is gross, and i thought $50 million for Apaches are overpriced.

Maybe it's all inclusive of chai pani for Netas, babus & the rest. We have seen how Vikramaditya price shot up several times since the initial bargain.

 

[Abingdonboy]

haven't we seen India media speculating a lot wrt to naval helicopters?

Yep, read this:

As for the multi-role helicopters, their primary role would be anti-submarine warfare and anti-surface warfare, while its secondary role would include search and rescue, cargo carrying and casualty evacuation. As per the tender, the winning bidder would be required to supply the first MRH within 46 months in three phases. The Navy will also have the option of placing orders for another 44 helicopters, once the present contract is completed.

Meanwhile, the 16 multirole helicopters (MRH) competition is to be followed by the N-MRH, a separate tender for 44 helicopters. Lockheed-Martin's MH-60R, based on the same airframe as the S-70B, will be a contender.

http://www.defencenow.com/news/829/indian-navys-$1-billion-multirole-helicopter-deal-delayed-by-six-months-again.html

If this article is 100% accurate then there are THREE separate Sea King replacement procurement going on!

However for HAL this is a major hit, since IN not only rejected the naval Dhruv, but is denying any future interest of the HAL LUH and most likely won't have the need for a medium class helicopter anymore too.

Yep- a MAJOR blow for HAL. If recent reports are correct then the foreign LUH/RSH program will still go ahead, the IN has gone for its own (non-HAL related) N-LUH procurement, the IAF has ordered more MIL-17-V5s (which seriously hurts the chances of the IMRH priject that is going nowehere) and now this news- another blow to HAL's hopes with the IMRH.

WTF...looks like the reporter put an extra zero out of enthusiasm. $60 million for a helicopter is gross, and i thought $50 million for Apaches are overpriced.

The $7BN/120 does not equal each helo's unit price. The $7BN includes a lot of extras. For an advanced N-MRH like the IN is looking for you'll be looking to spend ~$30-35mn USD apiece.

 

[Abingdonboy]

+ anyone remember this:

Navy planning to issue one of world's largest chopper tender - Indian Express

India to float one of world's largest helicopter tenders - Xinhua | English.news.cn

India to float one of world's largest helicopter tenders - Xinhua | English.news.cn

Indian Navy planning world's largest chopper tender - Economic Times

India procuring 75 anti-sub multi-role copters



<1 yr ago it was $4BN for 75 helos!

 

[Penguin]

35000 crore.... for just 120 choppers.... man thats too much money!!!

I suppose that deal includes more than just the aircraft e.g. training, spares, infrastructure changes etc

 

[proud_indian]

this is what Mr. Prasun K. Sengupta said

Be it 4.2-tonne helicopters or 10-tonne helicopters or 12-tonne helicopters, they&#8217;re all NMRHs in terms of function&#8212;something which the &#8216;desi&#8217; mass-media entities can&#8217;t figure out! For the first weight category, 56 are required (for which the Bell 426 is the frontrunner). For the second, about 40 are required & for the third, about 16 are required. That is how one derives the figure of 120 NMRHs, & therefore the figure of 120 does not stand for a single helicopter requirement for a particular weight category. Thus, for the 10-tonne category NMRH, the S-70B Seahawk & AS.365M Panther are being offered, while for the 12-tonne category NMRH, the AW-101, HH-92 Superhawk & Eurocopter&#8217;s EC-725 Cougar Mk2 are on offer.

 

[Abingdonboy]

this is what Mr. Prasun K. Sengupta said

Be it 4.2-tonne helicopters or 10-tonne helicopters or 12-tonne helicopters, they&#8217;re all NMRHs in terms of function&#8212;something which the &#8216;desi&#8217; mass-media entities can&#8217;t figure out! For the first weight category, 56 are required (for which the Bell 426 is the frontrunner). For the second, about 40 are required & for the third, about 16 are required. That is how one derives the figure of 120 NMRHs, & therefore the figure of 120 does not stand for a single helicopter requirement for a particular weight category. Thus, for the 10-tonne category NMRH, the S-70B Seahawk & AS.365M Panther are being offered, while for the 12-tonne category NMRH, the AW-101, HH-92 Superhawk & Eurocopter&#8217;s EC-725 Cougar Mk2 are on offer.

Prasun seems to right about how the 120 figure has been calculated but his numbers for each helo type are off wrt the 10 N-MRH (S-70B) which will almost certainly go to 60 (16+44) as opposed to his figure of 40 which he seems to have plucked out of the air and the 12 ton N-MRH will be ordered in much greater numbers than 16.

Also it is the Bell 429 on offer to the IN for the N-LUH requirement.

Also I am still unsure how the figure of 75 N-MRHs came about:

Navy planning to issue one of world's largest chopper tender - Indian Express

India to float one of world's largest helicopter tenders - Xinhua | English.news.cn

India to float one of world's largest helicopter tenders - Xinhua | English.news.cn

Indian Navy planning world's largest chopper tender - Economic Times

India procuring 75 anti-sub multi-role copters

The "desi" media really has made a mess of this entire process! I hope all becomes clear soon!


Either way- within the next 4 years the entire rotary wing of the IN will be brand spanking new! The IN has forced itself into the precarious situation where it needs to replace the entire rotary-wing fleet because of chronic neglect and ageing of airframes.


I wonder if any other navy on earth has undertaken such a comprehensive overhaul of its capabilities in recent times and especially on this scale?


My hope for the IN's rotary wing in 2016:

N-LUH:

BELL 429

10 ton N-MRH:

S-70B

12 ton N-MRH:

H-92

Interestingly- ALL American lol! I wonder if the IN is okay with having so much of its aviation arm sourced from the US (not forgetting the P-8Is).Having said that- if the IN is looking for diversifcation I would not be adverse to the idea of the EC-725 for the 12 ton role, its weapons carrying ability is pretty impressive although I don't know how important elemant is to the IN.

 

[帅的一匹]

Why IN not back up Indeginous chopper? At least go for some. Too much spending on the procurement!

 

[The A-5]

@Abingdonboy

There are a lot of ships that need helos for themselves being procured by IN -

7 x new DDGs (3 x P15A, 4 x P15B)
7 x new FFGs (P17A)
atleast 4 x new LPD/LHDs
2 x new aircraft carriers (P71, P71A)
8 x new landing crafts

and more. I like the S-70B and HH-92...they're really good.