The Defence Acquisiton Council (DAC), headed by the Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, took three major decisions on February 28 that is expected to give a big push to the ‘Make in India’ programme of the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.

The DAC approved additional purchase of 38 Pilatus trainers from Switzerland for induction in the Indian Air Force (IAF) while 68 Hindustan Turbo Trainer (HTT-40) would be manufactured by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The second approval was to indigenously manufacture with foreign collaboration a dozen mine countermeasure vessels (MCMVs). The programme worth Rs. 32,000 crore would be manufactured at the Goa Shipyard Ltd with foreign collaboration. The third decision pertained to acquisition of one C-130J Super Hercules aircraft worth Rs. 533 crore, to replace the one that crashed last year.

However, the much anticipated decision on ShinMaywa (US-2i) amphibian aircraft deal has been kept pending, while the Ministry of Defence (MoD) will hold more discussions with the Japanese manufacturers.

Furthering the ‘Make in India’ initiative, Parrikar has tasked HAL to supply rest of the required trainer aircraft to IAF, which acquired 75 Pilatus from Switzerland in 2013 at a cost of Rs. 2,896 crore, besides the 38 order purchase now under the option clause at a cost of around Rs. 1,450 crore. The MoD has thus accepted the long-standing offer of HAL to let them make the trainer aircraft for rookie pilots of the IAF. Earlier, the IAF had complained to the MoD that they would not like HAL manufactured trainers, giving reasons that they were going to be less advanced and more expensive. But Parrikar has worked on a compromise formula to allow HAL to produce 68 HTT-40 aircraft.

The then IAF Chief N.A.K. Browne wanted the MoD to order another 106 of the Pilatus trainers. The IAF contention was that having two types of trainers, If HTT-40 is also inducted, would be a cumbersome job to maintain as it would entail duplication in spares, maintenance and separate facility and trained staff. The IAF had projected an initial demand of 181 such trainers from Switzerland.

The MoD has decided to place enough orders with HAL to make the HTT-40 commercially viable. The final number of the trainers to be ordered may be increased as the IAF and the Indian Navy would be requiring them for a long period of time. The MoD has decided to monitor this indigenous project to bring them to fruition.

The IAF used to train its ab initio pilots on the HPT-32 which were phased out in December 2012, after a series of accidents, questioning the airworthiness of the trainers. On the occasion of its induction ceremony in Dundigul, Hyderabad, on May 31, 2013, the then Air Chief N.A.K. Browne had said, “This trainer will provide a solid foundation to our ab initio trainees as they understand the nuances of basic flying and go on to facilitate a seamless transition, into full-fledged operational flying for all streams. This will be an important milestone in our transformation journey.” Praising the Pilatus, the Air Chief then said, “PC-7 also incorporates exceptional safety features which would ensure that, while our young cadets learn the complex skills of military aviation, the safety of the aircraft as well as the aircrew is ensured. In addition, having an extremely good endurance in excess of four hours as well as the availability of a good margin of error, which is essential in training flying, makes it an ideal platform for the task.”

This ‘Make in India’ initiative will give a boost to indigenous manufacturing programmes of the MoD including naval warships.

The Indian Navy has been demanding for a long time induction of at least a dozen mine countermeasure vessels (MCMV) as it is down to nine vessels now. With the DAC approval, there is going to be a scouting for a foreign partner for the Goa Shipyard to manufacture the MCMVs, valued at Rs. 32,000 crore. Earlier the MoD had negotiated for MCMVs after receiving offers from abroad, but the MoD under A.K. Antony had scrapped the global tender after allegations of corruption. The fresh process would now begin to look for an international partner. This would be in the ‘Buy and Make’ category acquisition under the DPP and the Goa Shipyard Ltd would manufacture the ships under transfer of technology.

However, the much anticipated and talked about deal in strategic circles, the decision to acquire 12 amphibious airplanes US-2i from ShinMaywa worth $1.3 billion has been deferred once again. This was slated to be first strategic sale of a defence platform by the Japanese company to India. However, government sources said that a final decision could be taken soon as the Navy seriously wants them to safeguard the remote islands of Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep. Besides, the Indian Navy, the Indian Coast Guard is also interested in acquiring five of them from Japan initially. Since the Indian Government wants to manufacture them in India, demand in large numbers may arise from the Indian Navy which has a huge responsibility to safeguard the island territories of the country, situated in the Indian Ocean.