After several years of effort, tender for the 197 utility helicopters for the Indian Army was called off virtually in the last minute. RFP for 22 attack helicopters for the Indian Air Force was cancelled as ostensibly none of the machines in the race could meet all the stipulated qualitative requirements.

Since the middle of the last decade when the “open tender” system under the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) for the purchase of military hardware was introduced, cancellation of tenders by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) appears to have become a routine affair. After cancelling the tender for artillery guns for the Indian Army five times, the government may have no option but to follow the government-to-government route also referred to in the American system as foreign military sales (FMS). After several years of effort, tender for the 197 utility helicopters for the Indian Army was called off virtually in the last minute. Request for proposal (RFP) for 22 attack helicopters for the Indian Air Force (IAF) was cancelled as ostensibly none of the machines in the race could meet all the stipulated qualitative requirements (QRs). The most recent case of cancellation of tender pertains to the RFP for a new engine for the fleet of Jaguar aircraft for the IAF.

Of the fleet of Jaguars described as deep penetration strike aircraft (DPSA), acquired for the IAF in the late 1970s from the UK, around 125 remain in service. During its over three decades of existence in the IAF, the fleet has undergone a number of modifications to sustain its operational relevance and has rendered yeomen service all these years as the primary strike aircraft of the IAF. However, the ageing fleet has for some time now been badly in need of major mid-life upgrade to remain as a frontline aircraft in the combat fleet of the IAF. The aircraft currently powered by two Adour Mk 811 turbofan engines provides a rather unfavourable thrust to weight ratio and hence is inherently underpowered. This feature has an adverse impact on the performance envelope especially in the demanding hot and high operating environment in India. Thus, apart from the upgrade of avionics and other systems, the Jaguar fleet of aircraft of the IAF needs new and significantly more powerful engines in place of the Adour Mk 811s for enhanced performance as a platform.

With the aim to gainfully utilise the residual airframe life of 10 to 15 years or so, a decision was taken a few years ago to replace the Adour 811 engines with more powerful ones. Thus, an RFP for new engines of higher thrust was issued by the MoD on November 26, 2010, to two of the engine manufacturers— Rolls-Royce, the supplier of Adour 811 engines currently fitted on the Jaguar aircraft of the IAF and to the American aerospace major Honeywell that produces the F125IN which is regarded as a possible replacement. The deadline for submission of response to the RFP was April 22 of this year.

Rolls-Royce initially offered the Adour Mk 821 which in fact is only an upgraded version of the Adour Mk 811 and although it can deliver higher thrust, it is not actually a new engine. In the strictest sense, there is a possibility that the Rolls-Royce offer could therefore be considered to be technically non-compliant. However, the Adour Mk 821 offered certain advantages. Firstly, it was a product of proven technology and has a high degree of commonality with two other engines from the same company in use in the IAF—the Adour Mk 871 turbofan fitted on the Hawk Mk132, and its predecessor, the Adour Mk 811 turbofan engines that power the Jaguar fleet.