Like all finance ministers, Arun Jaitley is adept at selective use of statistics, opinions etc to support his economic management. It is to be hoped that when wearing the “brass hat” of defence minister (even if temporarily) he is more factual than “political”. In that context it is incumbent on the government to present an authentic picture on the status of the arrangement under which some 200 units of the Russian Kamov-226 light helicopter will be produced in India (the initial order) for use by all three wings of the forces. It was with much fanfare that the “make in India” project had been announced five months ago (along with other military acquisitions from Russia); and that was followed up by action to establish a second production-line for choppers in a town near Banglalore, the base of the state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics which the Russians had chosen as their joint-venture partner. Little further progress was reported, now reports suggest that the “deal” has run into turbulence over pricing, and India’s desire to involve a private sector “major” in the joint venture. As with its Tejas LCA development, HAL is of late indicating a preference for functioning as an “integrator”, leaving a fair share of the routine “construction” to a private player willing to make the huge investments involved: which is a key element of the “make in India” drive in the defence-production arena.
What makes the need for clarity so very urgent is that the demand for a light-utility helicopter has been felt for several years, and HAL does not have the capacity to produce enough “numbers” of the various versions of its Advanced Light Helicopter (not that it meets all technical requirements) to satisfy the existing demand ~ estimated at 800 units. Clearly the government needs to look far beyond the Kamov-HAL tie-up. With the Tatas, Reliance and Mahindra industrial houses having entered the aviation sector it might be advisable for them to seek out their foreign partners, work out the nitty-gritty and for the MoD restrict itself to laying down broad technical parameters and fixing the price of the end-product and support services. Private firms enjoy greater flexibility in price-negotiation, they are also better tuned to meeting deadlines. Recent arrangements with the Russians, the long-standing supplier of hardware to the Indian military, seem to have turned problematic: the joint development of a Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft has been a virtual non-starter, the SU-30 MkI combat jet is suffering from a low serviceability rate. And now the Kamov 226 is running into trouble. It is to be hoped that during the recent Aero-India show the IAF had the chance to take a close look at alternative helicopters: or was the festival at Yelahanka a mere carnival?