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Airbus hopes to sell A330 tankers to India

sudhir007

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Jul 6, 2009
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Airbus hopes to sell A330 tankers to India | idrw.org

European aircraft giantAirbus is hoping to strike a deal to sell its A330 aerial refuelling tanker aircraft to India, an Airbus official said today. ”India sent a request for proposals late last year. We responded by the end of January. We hope to win the contract,” Pablo Quesada, Airbus’s head of market development for the aircraft, told.

Speaking at an international maritime and aerospace exhibition on the Malaysia resort island of Langkawi, Quesada declined to give further details. Sources in the industry said India is looking at acquiring six aircraft but that its long-term needs are far higher.

A successful Airbus bid would make India the fifth buyer for the multi-role tanker aircraft. The Royal Australian Air Force, the first to operate the new plane, conducted its first international flight fromBrisbane to Langkawi for the show.

Russian company Ilyushin is the only other contender for the contract, with its Ilyushin 78 model.

Boeing, which in February beat Airbus in winning a bid to provide 179 air tankers for the US Air Force, has not made an offer to India, the sources said.

The aircraft, which can refuel two planes at the same time, has been ordered by four clients: Australia, Saudi Arabia, Britain and the United Arab Emirates.

France is widely expected to order the plane by 2013 but French officials maintain a decision has not yet been made.
 
these tankers are the best . the air force selected them earlier but it was turned down by the finance ministry as being too expensive. they can carry troops as well as fuel .
 
these tankers are the best . the air force selected them earlier but it was turned down by the finance ministry as being too expensive. they can carry troops as well as fuel .

they were not that expensive.........i think 1.71 billion dollars for 6 aircraft!!!!
 
A very good comment on BR- Buy some A-330 from the Airlines like Emirates and convert them into Tankers. Very cheap and can be bought in numbers...
 
A very good comment on BR- Buy some A-330 from the Airlines like Emirates and convert them into Tankers. Very cheap and can be bought in numbers...
Initially cheap but life cycle costs of running old equipment would be beyond ridiculous and another CAG-highlighted scandel waiting to happen. India can afford brand-new state of the art, customised A330 MRTTs so no need for hand-me-downs. Anyway these birds are intended to last for some time, new is the only way.
 
the IL78 were costing half of that for the same number. the finance ministry could not understand the difference between the two . a mule and a stallion.:)

You can't fault a fool for beng a fool. Only the true morons who put this kind of veto power in the hands of desk-riding bauracrats who can't look beyond spreadsheets and figures.
 

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