By IANS
New Delhi : US aerospace major Boeing has offered its CH-47F Chinook for an Indian Air Force (IAF) requirement for 12 medium to heavy lift helicopters.
The IAF is expected to release a request for proposal (RFP) for this by the first quarter of 2008.
The Chinook is capable of transporting 55 troops or two combat-equipped vehicles and can be used for medical evacuation, humanitarian efforts and fire fighting.
At informal discussions with the IAF, Boeing has stressed the advantage Chinook has because of its high altitude and lift capability for hot conditions, something the IAF is looking for given the diverse Indian geographical locations it needs to cover.
“The Chinook goes places where other helicopters cannot go. It is the only helicopter in Afghanistan with a capability to fly at high altitudes,” Chuck Allen, vice president and general manager (Rotorcraft Systems) of Boeing Integrated Defense Services (IDS), told reporters here.
Allen is in India to make a presentation on the Chinook and also to assess the customer’s interest to get an indication of the IAF requirement.
Allen said it was essential to determine the timeline for the IAF requirement since this would enable the company to reserve slots in its production line for India.
“If the order slides (beyond a timeframe), we might have to look at a new production line to accommodate India’s needs,” Allen said
The delivery time from the day the order is given would be 30 months, Allen said, adding: “We are working at reducing it to 25 months.”
Interestingly, Boeing is looking at co-producing parts of the Chinook in India to partially fulfil its 50 percent offset obligations it will be required to undertake if it wins an IAF order for 126 medium multi role combat aircraft (MMRCA).
The tender for this was issued last month. The Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet is one of the six aircraft in contention.
The company, which has already signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with companies like L&T, Wipro and Tata Power, as also the Indian Institute for Science, will be looking to source aircraft parts including hydraulics and machining.