What's new

NDF purchases first Indian helicopter

bhagat

FULL MEMBER
Dec 29, 2010
772
0
689
THE Namibian Defence Force (NDF) will soon see its first Indian-manufactured military helicopter, a Cheetah Utility Chopper, on local soil, after it was handed over to Defence Minister Charles Namoloh at the Aero India 2011 Air Show in Bangalore on Wednesday.
The Cheetah is the first of three helicopters included in a N$71,5 million deal signed between the NDF and the India’s aerospace company Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in 2009.
The two remaining helicopters, Chetak helicopters, will be delivered to Namibia in June this year.
Namoloh told The Namibian yesterday that the Namibian Government had bought the helicopters to replace the NDF helicopters that had crashed in the Democratic Republic of Congo during the peacekeeping mission in that country.
“Namibia is buying these helicopters because it is satisfied with their quality based on previous experience it has using them since 1994,” Namoloh said.
Indian news sources stated that ground support and ground handling equipment, plus an initial set of spares, will accompany the delivery. The Indian company will also assist in the training of Namibian pilots and ground crew, HAL managing director Soundara Rajan was reported as saying at the handover ceremony.
“Helicopters are in high demand in Namibia. Apart from catering for security needs of the country, they will be used as usual to assist civil authorities in peacetime, in operations for emergencies such as flood and drought relief, and transportation for both military and civil purposes,” the minister said.

the Namibian: NDF purchases first Indian helicopter
 
I think the Namibians have overpayed for the cheetah. They've paid 11 million USD for three choppers. As far as I know the Indian armed forces were getting these for 2.5 mil a piece. Or is this deal more comprehensive in terms of life cycle costs too?
 
I think the Namibians have overpayed for the cheetah. They've paid 11 million USD for three choppers. As far as I know the Indian armed forces were getting these for 2.5 mil a piece. Or is this deal more comprehensive in terms of life cycle costs too?

THE COST WD DEFINITLY INCLUDE, WARRANTY SUPPORT AND LIFE CYCLE COSTS.
 
They should have gone for dhruv more expensive but a lot more to offer

This I agree with completely. Even at double the cost the dhruv would have been much better for them. Dhruv has a much higher payload (almost triple). Plys it can be used for casevac and light troop transportation too. But I guess price was the only factor the namibians considered.
 
This I agree with completely. Even at double the cost the dhruv would have been much better for them. Dhruv has a much higher payload (almost triple). Plys it can be used for casevac and light troop transportation too. But I guess price was the only factor the namibians considered.

yes and one more factor is the training. while chetak/cheetah are basic helicopters which are used for conversion/training in choppers, ALH would require additional training to be imparted on aircrew. The training cost of pilots is also likely to be included in deal.
 
This I agree with completely. Even at double the cost the dhruv would have been much better for them. Dhruv has a much higher payload (almost triple). Plys it can be used for casevac and light troop transportation too. But I guess price was the only factor the namibians considered.

Yes the cost would have been high well no problem there are many more customers for dhruv
 
Compare it with other options available from western and eastern suppliers. The deal is cheapest actually.

Also, this is business and HAL must make profit and not act like a charity.

Its strange when it comes to French, US products, Indian admire high costs but when it comes to Indian products, they just assume that we should sell cheap. Why sir?
 
I think the Namibians have overpayed for the cheetah. They've paid 11 million USD for three choppers.

From the article:
Indian news sources stated that ground support and ground handling equipment, plus an initial set of spares, will accompany the delivery. The Indian company will also assist in the training of Namibian pilots and ground crew

This is why it is costing more...
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Total: 1, Members: 0, Guests: 1)


Pakistan Defence Latest Posts

Back
Top Bottom