Pressure mounts for air force basic trainer aircraft - Broadsword by Ajai Shukla - Strategy. Economics. Defence.

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Saturday 14 April 2012

Pressure mounts for air force basic trainer aircraft



Korea Aerospace Industries' KT-1 "Woongbi" trainer in Turkish Air Force colours. The South Korean complaint gives the MoD an opportunity to make a strategic choice rather than having to go with the cheapest offer


by Ajai Shukla
Business Standard, 15th Apr 12

With Parliament’s standing committee on defence intensifying scrutiny into India’s defence preparedness, the Indian Air Force (IAF) will be highlighting its near-desperate need for a basic trainer aircraft for its rookie pilots. For 10 months, the defence ministry (MoD) has blocked the purchase of 75 Pilatus PC-7 Mark II basic trainers, a contract worth around Rs 1,800 crore. This after a South Korean rival protested an alleged procedural violation by Swiss company, Pilatus, which emerged the lowest bidder in the evaluation process last year.

The IAF’s urgency stems from the grounding of its entire fleet of HPT-32 Deepak basic trainers since July 31, 2009, after the death of two instructor pilots in a horrific crash took the Deepak’s death toll to 19 pilots in 17 crashes. Alongside measures to make the HPT-32 safer, MoD gave the go-ahead for buying 75 modern basic trainers from the global market; simultaneously, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) was to develop and build 106 basic trainers, dubbed the Hindustan Turbo Trainer – 40 (HTT-40).

But the purchase of 75 trainers has run into trouble. After the opening of tenders from three global vendors on May 16, 2011, Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) protested that Pilatus’ had won by submitting an incomplete bid, which should disqualify it under the Defence Procurement Procedure of 2008 (DPP-2008). That would give KAI the contract, being the next-cheapest bidder and fully compliant with the DPP.

Despite sustained IAF pressure over the last 10 months to declare Pilatus the winner, defence minister Antony has dug in his heels, ordering that the Korean complaint be investigated fully. Antony insisted upon this even at a Cabinet committee on Security (CCS) meeting in January where the matter was discussed.

South Korea has used all the firepower at its command to seize the opportunity. After the Pilatus anomaly was detected, South Korea’s ambassador in New Delhi sent in a formal protest to MoD. A personal letter followed from South Korean defence minister, Kim Kwan-jin, requesting Antony for a “high-level review” of the “allegations on irregularity” in the deal. Sources familiar with Kim’s letter tell Business Standard, besides highlighting alleged irregularities in Pilatus’ quote, it also points out that the South Korean trainer is more contemporary than the Pilatus. It claims superior performance for the KT-1; and says that the Pilatus will get more expensive as the Swiss franc strengthens.

Antony’s prime concern, say sources close to the minister, is his oft-repeated insistence on following the DPP to the letter. The defence minister is also taking note of India’s unfolding strategic convergence with South Korea. In September 2010, Antony became the first Indian defence minister to visit that country, including a visit to KAI’s aircraft assembly line at Sacheon. According to HAL officials, KAI has offered to work with the Bangalore-based company in developing the HTT-40, the Indian-built basic trainer, so that there is commonality between the two basic trainers that the IAF flies.

South Korea is also growing its profile as a partner to the Indian Navy. The MoD is close to inking a $500-million contract with South Korean warship builder, Kang Nam Private Ltd, for three minesweepers. A serious play in the land systems market is unfolding from Samsung Techwin, which has tied up with Larsen & Toubro to offer the Indian Army the K-9 Thunder 155-millimetre self-propelled artillery gun.

However, pressure is growing on the MoD to announce the contract immediately. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report on IAF pilots’ training, which was released on March 30, criticises “training mostly with outdated and ageing aircraft.” Even more worrisome are the compromises in training: rookie pilots are now doing just 25 hours of

basic training, as against 150 hours that are considered essential and which were provided earlier.

IAF is pressing hard for an early procurement. Last June, then IAF boss, Air Chief Marshal P V Naik, told the media that Pilatus was the lowest bidder, and that the PC-7 Mark II would enter IAF service within one to one and a half years. On January 17, current IAF chief, Air Chief Marshal N A K Browne publicly speculated that the CCS could clear the Pilatus contract that week. He said the first 12 Pilatus trainers would arrive in 2013 and that IAF rookie pilots would train in Switzerland until then.

The new basic trainer is expected to overcome the key shortfalls of the HPT-32, which did not even have an ejection system; in emergencies, pilots ejected manually. Poor instrumentation and avionics restricted training to good weather. The HPT-32 had no recording equipment, so instructors never knew when trainee pilots, flying solo, had violated flying procedures.

11 comments:

  1. @Ajai Shukla :

    That was a very objective article. But what is your take on this ?

    Also KAI KT-1 is not an ab-initio trainer. What is your take on that ? Dont the pilots need abinitio training ?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ajai, please answer my one query, is it right for Mr. Antony to stall nearly any procurement of defence equipment on complaint from any stakeholders & thus compromising our national security? I mean u can look what is currently happening to rafale contract after a complaint from an MP. How can we be sure if the complainant is not under influence of any outside power?

    ReplyDelete
  3. So much for our great NAL, HAL, DRDO jokers. They can't even make a propeller driven plane. A technology from almost 100 years ago. Saint Antony gets pressure only when his mama St. Sonia from Vatican tolls the bell.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I will go for Korean machine and make sure I will get full TOT, so that I can fix our own machines

    ReplyDelete
  5. And if would be Korean, I would gift/lease "Woongbi" to IAF.

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a bunch of Jokers we Indians are. We kill and maim young people who want to defend our country by not giving them trainers and trainers. Then we use fighters to train, it doesnt work gets more pilots killed,and also malign an aircraft. This is going over 15 years now!!! 15 years of sheer murder. Then we Indians have indegenisation programes which actually is laughable, cause indegenisation has proved to be buying foreign stuff by indegenisation offices..BEML,DRDO,HAL.. NAL..stop procurements directly cause the same indegenisation offices claim they will make the product..again over 15 years and thus leaving the armed forces to be a killing machine..of its own....INSAS is a toy now..but on blogs is a fantastic weapon!!!!!!just as the LCA is comparable to the worlds finest planes....or the LCH rotors RPM going hay wire.

    Now we have also built in a system that allows others in the garb of stopping corruption to put a stop to procuring anything...Here Late V.P Singh should be commended as witht he Bofors fiasco in the 80s he placed a system that works so well for Indians adversaries...

    ReplyDelete
  7. Colonel Sir,

    I think you have put up a picture of the wrong aircraft. The picture you have posted is the indigenous Turkish 'Hurkus' trainer, which is different from the KT-1-

    http://defenceproducts.ssm.gov.tr/ProductDocuments/PrimaryandBasicTrainerAircraft/AIR_SPACE_PLATFORMS.pdf

    http://defenceproducts.ssm.gov.tr/Pages/ProductDetails.aspx?pId=100

    These are all offical Turkish government pages.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Concerned citizen15 April 2012 at 05:55

    What ever the choice, the MoD must "choose" to put India FIRST and foremost. The fact that our pilots are being inadequately trained is a matter that is FAR FAR more serious than some long term strategic tilting one side or the other.

    The Indian AirForce is the key element that will determine the outcome of any future conflict involving Indian forces and keeping this service well funded, equipped and trained is a priority that needs to be addressed post-haste, before strategic considerations.

    As it is the mandated 150 hours of basic flight instruction is far below the mandated flight hours Western pilots are entitled to and IAF must not only invest in trainer aircraft but supplement them with adequate numbers of on-the-ground simulator training at every level.
    Combat Aviation is a skill that cannot be mastered vicariously or academically.

    ReplyDelete
  9. What kind of this country is INDIA.It even cannot make a trainer plane. Why do then we need it at all. Better we do statyagraha at borders. Recently, the army is going overdrive to buy artilary shells HESH, FSAPDS from other countries where a tiny countries can manufacture themselves.

    ================ (Check This)
    Pakistan Ordnance Factories is the biggest defence industrial complex in Pakistan meeting almost one hundred percent of the ordnance needs of its armed forces, mainly the army.

    In 2001 Pakistan's NCD developed a 125mm armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot (APFSDS) projectile with a depleted uranium (DU) long-rod penetrator. It was made for use with Chinese-made T-80UD tanks....

    ReplyDelete
  10. What is the status of HJT-36. It was supposed to attain IOC last june? Any one heard any news about it?

    ReplyDelete
  11. Yawn, u realising the gen level of Retd Col - at least on aviation matters - today ?

    ReplyDelete

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