NEW DELHI - India's attempt to purchase a second batch of 106 Pilatus PC-7 basic trainers license-built in India by a local company appears to have reached a crossroads.
This batch-purchase for introductory trainers would build on an earlier buy of 75 Pilatus PC-7s procured for the Indian Air Force (IAF) in 2012 at the cost of $523 million. That purchase of PC-7s was but the first step in the process to fill the IAF Stage-1 trainer (introductory trainer) requirement for the IAF. The IAF has an overall requirement for 181 basic trainers, thus the need to wrap up a second-batch purchase.
But local defense firms are prevaricating, finding the "Buy and Make (Indian)" proposal by the Ministry of Defense uneconomical. Requests for Information (RfIs) have been sent out to local companies asking that they first negotiate with Pilatus before calculating their cost. The largest profit margin from the $1.2 billion program, however, will end up with the Swiss company, thus making the MoD proposal an unpalatable one in the eyes of domestic companies.
Adding to the procurements difficulties is that state-owned aerospace giant, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), is eager to see the project collapse so that it may swoop in and present its own option to the MoD. HAL has been pitching its HTT-40 basic trainer to the MoD, arguing that its platform offers a more advanced option. But the HTT-40 option - which is not expected to fly until 2015 - has already been rejected as too expensive and HAL is, in the eyes of the IAF, seen as too unreliable where delivery schedules are concerned.
Local companies are showing little interest in the MoD's PC-7 "Buy and Make" proposal and HAL has no interest in stepping in to provide the localized workshare required and help Pilatus gain a larger presence in the country.
The IAF remains fixated upon purchasing additional PC-7s due to its pressing fleet requirements, the availability of an existing, proven model in the PC-7 and Pilatus' reliability in terms of meeting delivery deadlines. But between the lack of local interest in license-producing the aircraft for Pilatus and HAL's determination to foist its HTT-40 on a disinterested IAF the project may wind up like so many other Indian defense procurement programs: stuck in neutral.
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