Preparedness hit by chopper delay,have to live with it: Air Chief

While the IAF had put in a request for replacement of the Mi 35 attack helicopters last year,the tenders were withdrawn after all American firms withdrew from the competition,citing domestic laws and paucity of time to gain requisite approvals from the US Government.

Request for Proposal was sent originally to Italian Agusta Westland,French Eurocopter,Russian Kamov and two American companies — Boeing and Bell. But the IAF did not receive responses from the American firms as they could not get clearances in time and the other helicopters on offer did not match the IAF’s requirements.

“It has been cancelled because some companies could not meet our requirements and others could not respond,” Major said,adding that fresh tenders for the helicopters will be issued shortly. This hitch has delayed the acquisition of the helicopters till at least 2012.

On MiG 29 aircraft in the Indian fleet,Major said they were fit to fly even though problems similar to the Russian issue were faced in the past. He said problems with the tail fin had been overcome and the aircraft had been modernised.

“Many years ago,we had a similar problem,but we have got ways and means of rectifying it. We have checked out our aircraft. One odd may require a slight modification. Otherwise,we have no issue with them. We are well aware of it and we have the necessary fix for this,” Major said.

As reported by this newspaper,at least one MiG 29 fighter had crashed in the early 1990s due to a collapse of the tail fin — the similar problem that is being investigated in the Russian fleet.