New Delhi: A dog fight has broken out between Indian Air Force (IAF) chief Air Chief Marshal NAK Browne and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Chairman and MD R K Tyagi over who should supply the Basic Trainer Aircraft (BTA).
The spat started after HAL said it was presented with unrealistic requirements over HTT-40s, while the IAF later diluted the same for the Pilatus it bought.
IAF sources said that the requirements given to HAL for trainer aircraft were drafts based on what the HAL said it could design and develop. The tender issued later on approval from the Defence Ministry had Air Staff Qualitative Requirements (ASQRs) that cannot be “amended, altered, dropped or dispensed” with. It also claimed that the same were given to HAL as the IAF’s final requirement for indigenous aircraft. The Air Force argued that the “real” cost of the domestic planes at 2011 prices was Rs 43.59 crore a unit—40 per cent more expensive than the Swiss planes.
04/08/13 N C Bipindra/New Indian Express
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The spat started after HAL said it was presented with unrealistic requirements over HTT-40s, while the IAF later diluted the same for the Pilatus it bought.
IAF sources said that the requirements given to HAL for trainer aircraft were drafts based on what the HAL said it could design and develop. The tender issued later on approval from the Defence Ministry had Air Staff Qualitative Requirements (ASQRs) that cannot be “amended, altered, dropped or dispensed” with. It also claimed that the same were given to HAL as the IAF’s final requirement for indigenous aircraft. The Air Force argued that the “real” cost of the domestic planes at 2011 prices was Rs 43.59 crore a unit—40 per cent more expensive than the Swiss planes.
04/08/13 N C Bipindra/New Indian Express
