August 28, 2018 | International, Aerospace, Naval
NEW DELHI — India's Ministry of Defence's apex procurement body, the Defence Acquisition Council, approved procurement of naval multirole and naval utility helicopters, but induction will not be made anytime soon.
MoD's DAC approved the purchase of 24 MH-60 Romeo multi-role helicopters from the U.S. through a foreign military sale at a cost of more than $2 billion. DAC also approved purchase of 111 naval utility helicopters, costing around $3.39 billion, to be built under the Make in India policy by domestic private companies in partnership with overseas original equipment manufacturers.
But this is only budgetary approval for purchase of two types of naval helicopters; that budget has yet to be allocated, and no timeline has been set for when the procurement process would kick-start, said a senior MoD official.
“The procurement of naval multirole helicopters will take at least three to five years, while induction of naval utility helicopters will take from eight to 10years,”he noted.
Another MoD official said the budgetary allocation for the naval multirole helicopters would come in the next three to six months; thereafter MoD will issue a letter of request, or LOR, to the U.S. Department of Defense, outlining specific requirements., beginning negotiations.
MoD plans to pursue the procurement of 111 naval utility helicopters under Make in India's strategic partners policy, under which choppers will be produced by selected private companies though a possible joint venture and technology transfer from foreign companies.
No private defense company in India have produced helicopters before, which could create a lengthy selection process.
In July last year, Indian Navy floated a request for information (RFI) to both domestic and foreign original equipment manufacturers, or OEMs, to participate in naval utility helicopter program.
Foreign OEMs including Airbus Helicopters of France, Russian Helicopters of Russia, Lockheed Martin and Bell of United States have expressed interest in supporting procurement efforts. Domestic private defense companies Adani Group, Bharat Forge Ltd, Reliance Defence, Mahindra Aerospace and Tata Advanced Systems Ltd have also responded to the RFI to build naval utility helicopters in the country.
November 14, 2024 | International, Aerospace
These systems enable precise, real-time coordination for tracking operations in space for effective responses to threats
July 15, 2019 | International, Other Defence
BY DAVID VERGUN Information technology is the backbone of today's modern battlefield and even more important in a constantly evolving security climate. That's why digital modernization is more important than ever. To usher in digital modernization, the DOD chief information officer has launched its first Digital Modernization Strategy, underpinned by four modernization pillars: cloud; artificial intelligence; command, control and communications, known as C3; and cybersecurity. First, DOD Chief Information Officer Dana Deasy said, an enterprise cloud will be created that will enable information sharing across the entire military and most importantly, to the warfighters on the tactical edge. Also, the enterprise cloud will deliver the next generation of applications that the warfighters will need to succeed. Second, for the enterprise cloud to effectively and efficiently enable information sharing on a vast scale, it will be powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning. To develop and deliver AI to the enterprise cloud, DOD needed to create the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, known as the JAIC, Deasy said. The JAIC "will be used by all the services, which will be the way in which we start to create new AI solutions at scale – that can be used across the department," he added. Third, is the ability to communicate to the warfighter with C3, Deasy said, which is "how do we ensure that we can get the end results from our cloud, from our AI solutions out to the tactical edge, out to the warfighter." Fourth, to prevent the department's technology from being compromised, it must be protected by defensive and offensive cyber capability, he said, noting that the Defense Department must be resilient when dealing with inevitable attacks from adversaries. "The Digital Modernization Strategy is all about the warfighter," Deasy said. "In everything we're building we're always challenging ourselves and asking: Are we doing this in the most thoughtful way that's going to enable the warfighter to be successful?" https://www.defense.gov/explore/story/Article/1903843/digital-modernization-to-benefit-warfighters-dod-cio-says/
October 6, 2024 | International, Land