DTN News: India, Russia Sign Deal On Military Aircraft Production

DTN News: India, Russia Sign Deal On Military Aircraft Production

Source: DTN News / Ria Novosti

(NSI News Source Info) NEW DELHI, India - September 12, 2010: India and Russia on Thursday agreed to set up a joint venture to manufacture a military transport plane. Under the deal, each party will pay $300.35 million to the JV's charter capital. Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) and United Aircraft Building Company expected to sign a deal in March during Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's visit to New Delhi, but India failed to get the paperwork ready and the signing was delayed. Manufacturing facilities will be set up both in Russia and in India. A total of 205 planes are to be made, 30% of which may be exported to third countries. Russia and India signed an intergovernmental agreement on the joint development and manufacturing of the Medium Transport Aircraft (MTA) in 2007. The first MTA is expected to make its maiden flight in 2016-18.

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DTN News: India, Russia Likely To Sign Various Agreements During Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s Moscow Visit

DTN News: India, Russia Likely To Sign Various Agreements During Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s Moscow Visit *Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) NEW DELHI, India - December 6, 2009: During Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s three-day official visit to Moscow which begins on Sunday, India and Russia are likely to sign a host of agreements of significance, which will be a reflection of the breadth of their relationship and particularly, the depth of their cooperation in the defence sector, said Foreign Secretary Nirupama Roa in the capital on Saturday. Breifing media persons ahead of the visit, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao stated the list of likely agreements during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit. The list of probable agreements during this Dr.Singh’s Moscow visit include: • Agreement on extending the Programme for Military and Technical Cooperation for the period 2011-2020; • Agreement on After Sales Support for Russian arms and military equipment supplied to India; • Protocol to the Agreement on Cooperation in Development and Production of Multi-Role Transport Aircraft (MTA); • Dollar credit line Agreement between Vnesheconombank of the Russian Federation and the Exim Bank of India for the extension of a 100 million dollar credit to Russia for certain imports of equipment from India; • MoU on cultural exchanges between India and the Russian Federation. “ A Joint Declaration will be issued by the two leaders during the visit on deepening our strategic partnership to meet global challenges,” Rao informed. “In addition to these, we are currently in the advanced stages of finalizing a bilateral framework Inter-Government Agreement on Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy. Several rounds of negotiations have already taken place between our experts and we are hopeful that the agreement will be finalised during the visit. This agreement envisages broad-based cooperation on a range of technologies and know-how in the realm of peaceful uses of nuclear technology,” Rao informed. India has an existing agreement with Russia (of 1988) for cooperation in the construction of two 1000 MW nuclear power units. India and Russia defense cooperation has for long been a key element of their relationship. “We have moved well beyond a buyer-seller relationship to joint production through the transfer of relevant technologies. In fact, the development of the Indian defence industry has been in large measure due to the strong relationship we have had with Russia and the Soviet Union earlier. A very robust bilateral institutions mechanism exists to discuss the defence relationship. The apex of this structure is the inter-governmental commission headed by the two Defence ministers on military-technical cooperation.” During the annual summit, this relationship will be reviewed at the highest level, Rao stated. In the hydrocarbon sector, cooperation in which is another critical element of India-Russia relationship. “We are hoping to intensify this cooperation with further participation in oil and gas fields in the Russian Far-East,” the Foreign Secretary informed.

DTN News: Indian Panel OKs Joint Aircraft Effort With Russia

DTN News: Indian Panel OKs Joint Aircraft Effort With Russia *Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) NEW DELHI, India - December 6, 2009: India's highest decision-making body on security matters gave its approval Dec. 3 to the joint development with Russia of a multirole transport aircraft (MTA).The Multirole Medium Aircraft (MTA) project was initiated by Russia's Ilyushin in 1996. It is also referred to as Il-214 Ilyushin and "Indo-Russian Transport Aircraft (IRTA) or MRTA by its Indian partner HAL. Russia and India entered into negotiations for the co-development of the aircraft in 1999. An agreement was signed in June 2001 between Ilyushin, Irkut and HAL. The clearance by the Cabinet Committee on Security here will pave the way for a formal agreement to be signed during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Russia, beginning Dec. 6. The plan calls for India and Russia to jointly build 210 MTAs, with Russia buying 100 and India buying the rest. The agreement will include an option for India to buy 100 more MTAs for its Army and other security forces. Despite a 2002 memorandum of understanding to forge a joint venture to build the aircraft in India, no headway has been made on the project. The formal agreement likely will be inked during Singh's Moscow visit, an Indian Defence Ministry official said. Russia's Irkutsk Aviation and Industrial Association, llyushin Aviation Complex and Rosoboronexport have decided to participate in the MTA program with India's state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) on an equity-sharing basis. The Russians will finance nearly $300 million of the aircraft's development costs, the Defence Ministry official said. HAL also will supply $300 million for the effort after getting firm orders for the 15-ton MTA from the Indian Air Force, the ministry official added. The MTA is intended to replace the Air Force's transport aircraft, most of which were bought from Russia. India has about 100 medium-lift An-32s and about 20 heavy-lift Il-76s. In 2008, India signed a contract for the purchase of six C-130 Hercules transport planes from the U.S.

DTN News: India, Russia To Launch Joint Military Airlifter In September

DTN News: India, Russia To Launch Joint Military Airlifter In September *Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) NEW DELHI, India - August 24, 2009: In line with the BrahMos cruise missile project, India and Russia are expected to ink a deal during Defence Minister A K Antony's Moscow visit next month on setting up of a joint venture for production of state-of-art multi-role transport aircraft (MTA) for their air forces. The "formal agreement" for floating the MTA JV is expected to be signed in September during Antony's Moscow visit for the session of Joint Commission on military- technical cooperation, V Balakrishnan, General Manager of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) aircraft manufacturing division, said. The Russian government has cleared the formalities for the creation of 50-50 JV and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has allocated funds for financing Russia's share, he told the news agency on the sidelines of the International Aero-space show 'MAKS-2009'. From the Indian side HAL will hold 50 per cent equity in the JV. The inter-government agreement for the joint development and production of MTA was inked in 2006 during the then President Putin's India visit, as the air forces of both the countries are seeking to replace their ageing Soviet-era Antonov series transport aircraft. Balakrishnan said IAF has evinced interest in acquiring 40 MTA aircraft for transporting troops, military hardware and military cargo with option of buying more aircraft, while the Russian air force has confirmed readiness to acquire 100 planes. According to earlier reports under the USD 600 million JV, a highly advanced transport aircraft with the capacity of 20 tonnes and capable of landing on any type of runway, including in the high Himalayan altitudes, would be developed on the basis of Ilyushin Il-214 aircraft. HAL and Ilyushin are to co-design and develop the aircraft.