10 Sep 14. James Fisher Defence wins Indian Navy submarine rescue contract. The Indian Navy (IN) has shortlisted the UK’s James Fisher Defence (JFD) to supply it with two 30-ton deep submergence rescue vehicles (DSRVs) for about INR4bn (USD66.66m). James Fisher Defence has previously supplied DSRVs to the Singaporean and South Korean navies. IN officials told IHS Jane’s on 9 September that a DSRV offered by JFD was recently selected over a Russian vessel after emerging as L1, or the lowest bidder, after user evaluation and trials. They said the Ministry of Defence would sign a contract over the next 6-8 months following price negotiations with JFD. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
09 Sep 14. USAF wants USD16.5m for unspecified bunker buster modifications. The US Air Force (USAF) has asked Congress to move USD16.5m in war funding into the Boeing GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP), or ‘bunker buster’, munition programme. A reprogramming request from the Pentagon dated 8 September stated that the money is needed “to support an Urgent Operational Need requirement to procure a specific mission critical modification” on the munition. Details of the request are classified. The MOP is a large penetrating GPS-guided bomb with the ability to attack deeply buried and hardened bunkers and tunnels. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
09 Sep 14. Pentagon wants to buy F-35s, Apaches with war funds. Key Points:
* The Pentagon is asking lawmakers for permission to buy 12 AH-64Es and 8 F-35s with its supplemental budget
* The AH-64s would replace OH-58Ds, while the F-35s would replace AV-8Bs and F-15s
The Pentagon has asked the US Congress for permission to move just over USD1.9bn in supplemental wartime funding, known as the Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) account, into specific procurement accounts, with over half of that amount going to aircraft purchases. The reprogramming request, dated 9 September and viewed by IHS Jane’s, asks for $404,000m for 12 Boeing AH-64E Apache attack helicopters to replace 21 Bell OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopters lost in combat. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
07 Sep 14. Indian MoD mulls pitting private firms against HAL in LUH programme. India’s defence industry is expecting a face-off over the military’s Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) requirement between the state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and local private sector companies engaged in joint ventures (JVs) with overseas vendors.
In late August the Ministry of Defence (MoD) scrapped the long-pending purchase of 197 helicopters – 133 for the Army Aviation Corps (AAC) and the 64 for Indian Air Force (IAF) – for the second time since 2007. It is expected to issue a local tender for a single-engine, 2-2.5 ton platform by the end of the year. MoD officials said the winning platform would be made under the Defence Procurement Procedures ‘Make and Buy (Indian)’ category and would replace the ageing fleet of Chetak (Aerospatiale Alouette III) and Cheetah (Aerospatiale SA-315B Lama) helicopters dating back to the mid-1960s. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
07 Sep 14. DoD, Georgian MoD Discuss Black Hawk Helicopter Sale.
The Pentagon held talks with top Georgian military officials Sunday about moving forward with Tbilisi’s desire to purchase Sikorsky Black Hawk helicopters. While the Defense Department has not approved the sale, US defense officials discussed pricing, availability and the process of acquiring this type of high-end US military equipment.
“We are constantly focused on how we can do more and will do more,” Hagel said during a Sunday morning press briefing after meeting with Georgian Defense Minister Irakli Alasania. Hagel called the potential sale of military equipment to Georgia a “very significant part of growing and expanding its partnership.” More than two-dozen nations fly the Black Hawk and more than 2,300 are operational around the world, according to Sikorsky. The company assembles the S-70i versions of the helicopter in Poland. Last week, NATO leaders