The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) government has cleared the lone bid of the Tata-Airbus consortium for the CASA C-295. The aircraft will replace the ageing Avro fleet of the Indian Air Force (IAF). The deal is expected to be worth Rs.11,930 crore (USD 1.87 Billion). The aircraft will be the first to be built for the IAF by a private Indian firm.
In 2013, the MoD had the ministry had issued a RFP for the Avro replacement. The RFP specified that foreign manufacturers would have to to tie-up with an Indian firm. Only the Tata-Airbus consortium responded to the RFP.As part of the deal, 16 aircraft will be bought in a fly away condition while another 40 are made in India.
According to reports, the DAC also cleared a Russian proposal for the local manufacture of 200 Kamov Ka-226T light helicopters, procurement of 38 additional Pilatus PC-7 Mk.2 basic trainer aircraft and a proposal to convert two Boeing 777-300ER for VVIP travel.