Tag: AgustaWestland

India’s VSHORAD program off flight path
Defence ministry faces problematic result after 20 years of shopping around

Even after two decades since the acquisition case, the Very Short Range Air Defence (VSHORAD) search has seen a system absent from trials and failing trials, being passed as technically compliant and ending up as, apparently, the cheapest. Also problematic is the difficulty its purchase could pose by provoking U.S. sanctions under their CAATSA.

AgustaWestland invokes arbitration in #ChopperScam

Click to enlarge: AgustaWestland AW101 | Image credit: Shruti Pushkarna/StratPost

In a statement issue today, the company said it was left ‘with no other option but to invoke arbitration through Counsel’. It said this came after it made several requests to the defense ministry for invoking bilateral discussions as provided in the contract.

Changes announced in Defense Procurement Procedure

These changes are skewed to favor and encourage defense industry in India, some of which appear to have been influenced by reactions to corruption scandals. Do have a look at the list of changes, copied and pasted, verbatim, from the defense ministry press release.

Graphic: #ChopperScam Timeline

Shruti Pushkarna puts together a graphic representation of the process of selection of the AgustaWestland AW101 helicopter by the Indian Air Force (IAF), on the basis of the White Paper issued by the defense ministry on Thursday.

#ChopperScam Chatter

The story about the arrest of Giuseppe Orsi, Chairman and CEO of Italian defense and aviation company, Finmeccanica, broke sometime on Tuesday afternoon, a few days less than a year when investigations first began into the company over allegations of corruption in Indian contracts.

Indian VIP helo buy under cloud

The deal for the purchase of 12 AgustaWestland AW 101 helicopters for VIP transportation is under scrutiny by the Indian defense ministry after reports surfaced that the company may have employed agents to facilitate the contract.

Finmeccanica brings wide product line to DefExpo

The Italian defense major will be represented at DefExpo by its group companies AgustaWestland, Alenia Aermacchi, DRS Tactical Systems, Inc. (a division of DRS Technologies), SELEX Galileo, Oto Melara and WASS – in DEFEXPO 2012, exhibiting products, platforms and technological solutions in the field of helicopters, aeronautic, radar systems, naval and land armaments and underwater systems.