India issues fresh tender for six-mid air refuellers

US-based Boeing has announced that it had received initial request for six-mid air refueller for IAF from the Indian government. This comes soon after India cancelled the US$1.5 billion contract with Airbus for its A-330 mid-air refuellers due to reservations over high cost. Interestingly, a similar request for six-mid air refuellers was not responded to by Boeing earlier. company had announced of its plans to deliver the first commercial 787 Dreamliner in 2011 to India’s state-run carrier Air India and invest up to US$100 million in a MRO (maintenance, repair, and overhaul) unit to maintain it.

“We will do a detailed evaluation of the request for interest from the Indian government, study our inventory, and accordingly inform the government,” Vivek Lall, VP and Country head of defence, space and security at Boeing India, told reporters. Lall didn't elaborate on the potential value of the contract and said, "We will have to study what we can supply and then only we can talk about the value of the order."

Boeing sees India as a big defence market. In an exclusive interview to 8ak, Vivek Lall predicted US$31 billion in sales of defence equipment to India in the next 10 years. India has signed a US$2.1 billion deal for eight P-8I long-range maritime reconnaissance (LRML) aircraft. Boeing has also received an official letter of request from India's defence ministry and the Indian Air Force on the potential acquisition of 10 C-17 Globemaster III heavy military transport aircraft in a deal expected to be between US$1.7-US$2 billion.