he Indian Navy has finally selected a new naval helicopter; the American S-70. This comes after more of a decade of efforts to get the Indian Navy a new helicopter. India’s slow, corrupt and generally inept military procurement bureaucracy was responsible for most of the delays. A major part of the problem was that the procurement officials had been ordered to buy Indian in possible. All this was quite urgent because Indian badly needed new naval anti-submarine helicopters. The navy currently has about 40 anti-submarine helicopters all of them more than two decades old and in need of replacement. But the Indian procurement bureaucrats first went after an Indian designed and manufactured helicopter. That has not worked out. Back in 2010 the navy bought six of the Indian made Dhruvs for evaluation and did not like what they saw. The main complaints were lack of engine power and poor reliability. These were considered fatal flaws for helicopters operating off ships and used for SAR (search and rescue) and ASW (anti-submarine warfare) work.
21/12/14 Strategy Page
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21/12/14 Strategy Page
