Aerospace major Boeing, which is participating in a big way in the ‘Aero India 2015’ starting on February 18 and which has pledged support for the ‘Make in India’ initiative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in defence, on Friday indicated a price increase in the $2.5-billion deal for attack and heavy-lift helicopters.
“They [the Defence Ministry] kept asking for extensions, and we did provide them as and when appropriate. It is not always possible to keep extending, because we live in a world where we feel inflationary pressure,” said Pratyush Kumar, president, Boeing India, if India fails to ink the deal at the earliest.
Mr. Kumar said: “We are focussing our efforts to support the Prime Minister’s ‘Make in India’ initiative by developing a competitive supplier base in the country that is fully integrated into Boeing’s global supply chain, and we are skilling the front-line workforce to become capable of supporting aerospace-grade manufacturing.”
Responding to questions from the media on how long the commercial bids were valid, Mr. Kumar said the deal had been going on for 4-5 years with the commercial bids having been extended multiple times. This might not be possible for much longer, and “it is in everyone’s interest to sign the deal at the earliest.”
India has selected the Apache AH-64 attack helicopters and the Chinook heavy-lift helicopters after evaluation. But India is yet to give final approval for the contract to be signed.
The deal is for 22 Apache helicopters, with an option for 11 more, and 15 Chinooks, with an option for seven more. The optional clause has to be exercised within two years from the delivery of the last helicopter in each deal.
