India has issued a request for proposals for primary trainer aircraft, an urgent requirement now that the country's fleet of Hindustan Aeronautics HPT-32 Deepaks has been grounded.
The RFP calls for 75 aircraft to be purchased "off-the-shelf" and another 106 to be built by HAL, says the country's defence ministry. The latter will be manufactured under a joint venture arrangement, say industry sources.
India wants to use military procurement to build the country's aircraft manufacturing capability, but the grounding of its remaining piston-engined HPT-32s after a fatal crash on the outskirts of Medak in Andhra Pradesh state last July has made the air force primary trainer requirement more immediate.
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The defence ministry says HAL has been ordered to modify aircraft in the interests of safety. In the meantime, the Indian air force is relying on surplus HJT-16 Kiran Mk1/1A jet trainers to provide stage one and two training.
The primary trainer RFP is the latest in a series of requests that India has issued as part of efforts to modernise its military. It is also seeking to buy 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft, plus light utility and light attack helicopters, jet trainers and naval fighters.
India's air force has a high volume of Russian- and Ukrainian-provided equipment, but in more recent times it has shifted towards ordering Western kit.
Source: Flight International
