Light helicopter race heats up,Augusta out

Sources said Augusta Westland,which has already won a contract to supply 12 VVIP helicopters,has not been called for the latest round of consultations between the Armed forces and vendors. At the last meeting between Armys technical officers and the vendors in Bathinda on Saturday,only officials from Kamov and Eurocopter were present.

While both Kamov and Eurocopter are said to be performing equally well in the trials,the window is still open as no clear winner has emerged. Sources said that Augusta Westland would be informed about the reason for their disqualification. After the summer trials,the Army will prepare a detailed technical report on the performance of the two machines that will be considered by the MoD.