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http://tass.ru/en/defense/841639

India to purchase Russian-made Ka-226T helicopters — defense ministry

December 04

India plans to purchase Russian-made Kamov Ka-226T (NATO reporting name: Hoodlum) light multirole helicopters, after which their joint production may be established in the South Asian republic, the Indian Defense Ministry said in a statement obtained by TASS on Friday.

India's Defense Acquisition Council has approved the expediency of a request for the purchase and subsequent joint production of Ka-226T helicopters for the Indian ground forces and the Air Force, the statement said.

The statement didn’t specify the number of helicopters, which India might purchase. At the same time, a TASS source close to the Indian Air Force said "an initial order for about 50 helicopters" was possible.

"Overall, the first stage may involve 200 Ka-226T helicopters, including purchased ready-made choppers and rotocraft produced by the joint venture in India," the source said.

The proposal of the joint production of Ka-226T helicopters was first discussed at a meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin during Putin’s visit to New Delhi in December 2014. The sides said at the time that the joint venture could produce helicopters, including for exports to third countries.

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747-237 · Posted: Wed Feb 15, 2017 8:52 pm Post subject:

This means an initial order of 200 Kamov-226 helicopters, of which 140 will be built in India as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's drive to build a domestic defence industrial base and cut imports, is expected to be increased.

"There are issues between parties, but these are being tackled," Sergey Goreslavsky, deputy director general of Rosoboronexport, said at India's biggest air show in the southern city of Bengaluru.

A team will assess the Indian manufacturing facilities over the next few months. "We are keeping our fingers crossed about launching production this year," an executive at Russian Helicopters said.

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-india-and-russia-seek-to-revive-stalled-helicopter-venture-2324075
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Aseem · Member Joined: 15 Dec 2006 Posts: 2841 Location: YYZ

This was long time... the last I heard was that they were collaborating with Anil Ambani's Reliance.. but Russians later on favoured HAL.

VT-ASJ
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747-237 · Posted: Thu Mar 23, 2017 10:37 am Post subject:

http://www.huffingtonpost.in/2017/03/22/plan-to-build-choppers-for-indian-forces-remains-grounded-as-rus_a_21905867/

Plan To Build Choppers For Indian Forces Remains Grounded As Russia Drags Its Feet

22/03/2017

The first major hurdle to "Make in India" in defence manufacturing appears to be coming from an old friend, that is, Russia.

In October 2016, India and Russia agreed to jointly manufacture Kamov-226T multi-utility helicopters in India for the three services. The agreement was presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President of the Russian Federation Valdimir Putin. It was the first major defence venture under the Modi government's "Make in India" programme. But there has been no progress since.

The Kamov-226T is a twin-engine helicopter known for ruggedness and performance. Faced with the need to replace the ageing Cheetah and Chetak helicopters, India planned to manufacture as many as 200 helicopters.

Top defence ministry sources told Huffington Post, India, that the two countries haven't yet decided on the exact price of the helicopters. The price being quoted by Russia is much beyond New Delhi's expectation.

More importantly, Russia isn't very comfortable sharing technology with the Indian private sector. The agreement specified that Hindustan Aeronautical Limited (HAL)— the Indian defence public sector unit — would get Indian private sector entities as partners to manufacture various components for the Kamov-226T helicopter. Not happy with this involvement of the India private sector, Moscow has held back "critical clearances".

"Much of the Russian defence manufacturing is state owned. While India is trying to boost the nascent private defence manufacturing industry by making HAL the main integrator, Russian defence industry isn't very sure about involving sharing technology with the private sector," top defence ministry sources said.

Under this joint defence manufacturing venture, signed on the side-lines of the BRICS summit in Goa last year, India and Russia agreed for complete transfer of technology and joint production of Kamov-226T helicopters in India.

The decision to make helicopters in India follows the Inter-Government Agreement on "Cooperation in the field of Helicopter Engineering" singed between the two countries during Prime Minister Modi's visit to Russia in December 2015. The two sides had agreed to set up a joint venture with the Russian government firm Rostec Corporation holding 49.5% stake and HAL holding 50.5% stake.

India–Russia ties are time-tested, and India considers Russia to be its most trusted strategic partner. However, the ties between the two countries had come under some strain: Kremlin perceived that New Delhi was increasingly depending on the West to source defence equipment.

The Modi government has been trying to re-energise bilateral relations. During the signing of October 2016 agreement, India had assured Russia that defence cooperation and manufacturing would be one the key pillars of Indio–Russia relations. Jointly producing helicopters for the Indian Navy, Indian Air Force and the Army was expected to revitalise ties. Apart from helicopters, India had also decided to source warships among other defence platforms from Russia.

The three services and the Coast Guard put together need about 400 helicopters. While HAL is developing the light-utility helicopters, India decided to source 200 helicopters from Russia to replace the aging fleet of helicopters.

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747-237 · Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2018 3:29 pm Post subject:

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/new-delhi-approves-technical-specifications-for-ka-447627/

New Delhi approves technical specifications for Ka-22T buy

12 April, 2018

New Delhi has approved the technical configuration of the Kamov Ka-226T "Sergei" light utility helicopters, of which 200 will be procured for the Indian military.

“Approval of helicopter configuration to be delivered and assembled in India means that the technical aspects of the project have been finalized. We and our Indian partners shall commence the preparation of contractual documents in the near future”, said Andrey Boginskiy, director general of Russian Helicopters.

A local joint venture was registered in India in 2017 for production of Ka-226Ts in Tunkur, which is located close to Bangalore.

Media reports indicated that 40 examples will be produced in Russia, with the following 160 in India.

In May 2015, New Delhi’s Defence Acquisition Council selected the Ka-226T for a long running requirement for 197 reconnaissance and surveillance helicopters.

The army and air force have had pending requirements for over a decade to acquire 133 and 64 RSH aircraft, respectively, to replace their obsolescent Cheetah and Chetak light helicopters.

Russian Helicopters says the Ka-226T, which uses a coaxial rotor system, has a maximum take-off weight of 3.6t and can carry up to 1t of payload. It can be fitted with different modules, such as a transport cabin for six personnel or for specialised equipment.

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