India to invite bids for 312 light helicopters
Dated 10/4/2008
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India is in the advanced stage of inviting bids for 312 light helicopters for the army and the air force. The soon to be floated bids come about three months after the Indian Army tender for 197 Eurocopter Fennec helicopters was scrapped.
The request for proposal (RFP) for the light helicopters - 197 for the army and 115 for the Indian Air Force - will be sent in a few days, said an official preferring anonymity. The procedure has taken time as the demands of the army and air force had to be tallied and the incongruities sorted out, the official added.
The Indian Army needs new helicopters to replace the ageing 1970s-vintage Chetak and Cheetah, as it modernises and expands its Army Aviation Corps (AAC) to meet current and future rapid mobility battlefield requirements. Light helicopters are useful for the forces in high-altitude regions like Siachen.
