ShinMaywa confident of progress on US-2 sale to India

[gortje]

Aero India 2015: ShinMaywa confident of progress on US-2 sale to India

ShinMaywa officials at Aero India 2015 believe that Japanese and Indian government support for the sale of 12 US-2 amphibian aircraft to the Indian Navy (IN) means it should overcome delays that could threaten the deal.

The IN requirement for a long-range search-and-rescue platform, first mooted in 2012, is awaiting approval by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), which has to approve all programmes befo...re contract negotiations can begin.

Senior IN officers told IHS Jane's in January that the USD1.65 billion US-2i procurement featured "prominently" in the Services Capital Acquisition Categorisation Committee (SCAPCC) meeting at the Integrated Services Headquarters in New Delhi on 31 December 2014.

All major Indian materiel acquisition proposals are mandatorily routed through the SCAPCC by the respective service headquarters.

Partha Dutta Roy, ShinMaywa's senior manager in charge of sales and business development in India, told IHS Jane's on 18 February that "a fair amount of work has been done" on outlining the various elements of the proposed deal so that work can move ahead quickly once DAC approval is given.

A joint working group set up in 2014 to expedite the acquisition has held a number of meetings that have prepared the groundwork for transfer of technology, offsets and contract negotiations, Roy said at the biennial defence show in Bangalore.

The IN plans to directly import two US-2is and assembling and licence building the remaining 10 in collaboration with a private-sector Indian manufacturer.

IN officials have previously said the service anticipates increasing the number of platforms it buys as its operational requirements and those of the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) are rapidly expanding in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

Roy said the 47-tonne US-2i, powered by four Rolls Royce AE-2100J turboprop engines and with an operational range of 4,700 km, can "reach wherever you are in the IOR in three hours max".

Unlike helicopters, "it's not limited by sea state or range", Roy said, making it "the ideal platform for replenishment and long-range search and rescue".

Source: http://www.janes.com/article/49063/aero ... e-to-india