Coast guard cancels Rs 1,100 cr marine aircraft RFP

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BANGALORE: The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has cancelled the Request for Proposal (RFP) it had issued to acquire six Medium Range Maritime Reconnaissance (MRMR) aircraft, in spite of conducting flight trials for the two contenders earlier in the year. While Coast Guard officials have refused to confirm the termination of the Rs 1,100-crore tender, sources have said that the maritime organisation was reconsidering certain features that it required from the aircraft, and had therefore, halted the acquisition process, in spite of holding flight trials for the two short-listed aircraft barely three months back.

In February, flight trials for Russian Beriev BE-200 and the Canadian Bombardier Q-400 were conducted to evaluate their performance. The aircraft were scheduled to be purchased as the Coast Guard looks to ramp up its aerial reconnaissance and surveillance capabilities. The Coast Guard has also been looking to extend its strategic reach capabilities, especially in the light of increasing pirate attacks off the vast 7,600-kilometre Indian coastline.

Repeated incursions by pirates of Somalian origins, have forced the organisation to amp up its coastal patrolling and island surveillance, especially as reports have emerged of heightened activity by pirates, who were successful in hijacking a Bangladeshi-flagged merchant vessel about 90 nautical miles off Kochi and 80 nautical miles off Minicoy in December last year.

Post the 26/11 attacks on Mumbai, New Delhi too has made a significant mind shift in devising and implementing a new, robust coastal security network, after long regarding its northern land borders as the key security challenge. Last year, the ICG announced its intention of buying large number of marine guns, and invited information from global vendors. Its shopping list included 100 12.7-mm marine guns, 70 20-mm marine guns, 36 30-mm marine guns and 36 40-mm marine guns, all for integration on existing and future vessels.

Separately, it had also floated tenders for six new 2,000-tonnes offshore patrol vessels, 14 fast patrol vessels and 20 new interceptor boats. All acquisitions were part of its five-year Coast Guard Development Plan . However, Indian Navy officials confirmed that it was still going ahead with the issue of its RFP.

"The RFP is still on track, and there has been no discussion to cancel the same," Commander PVS Satish told The Economic Times. The Navy has been looking to acquire eight to ten MRMR aircraft as part of its bid to expand its offensive capabilities and as part of its effort to be a 'Blue Water navy.'

The estimated contract value is expected to be around $1.5 billions to $2 billion. In February, ET was the first to report that Boeing had submitted a reply to the Navy's RFI for the medium-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft as well. Others expected to be in the running for the contract include Russia's Ilyushin, France's Dassault and EADS. However, the defence ministry is yet to confirm the identities of the other vendors in the running for the tender.

Like most defence deals pursued in India, the acquisition of the MRMR aircraft for the Indian Navy has followed a long and tortuous route. With the original global RFP issued in 2008, before the Mumbai attacks, the same was later scrapped by the defence ministry on certain technical grounds.

The current RFI also specifies the aircraft should be able to carry out electronic intelligence gathering and counter-measures, besides maritime patrol and search and rescue within an operational envelope of 350 nautical miles or almost 650 kilometres, as well as a patrol endurance of at least three and a half hours. There are additional requirements that the aircraft be capable of carrying at least two anti-ship missiles and a jamming pod.

As with the P-8 I, the navy has specified in the RFI that certain pieces of equipment must be indigenous, like Identification Friend or Foe Interrogator with Secure Mode, MSS Terminal, BFE, Datalink and Speech Secrecy Equipment and vendors must indicate their commitment to integrate this equipment into the aircraft.