Italians push AJT sale even after
Hawk deal signed
New Delhi: An Italian company Aermacchi has written to defence
minister "Pranap Mukherjee" offering to supply the M-346
state-of-the-art new generation advanced jet trainer to India even
though New Delhi has signed and sealed the deal for the British Hawk.
Indian pilots are already in the UK for the first round of training but
Aermacchi, in a letter written on June 22, is given to "understand that
a decision on the acquisition of an AJT has not been finalised yet." It is learnt that the offer had been actively considered by former
defence minister George Fernandes in 2002 but rejected since. Aermacchi
had made a presentation of its M-346 AJT, as it points out in the
letter, to the Indian Air Force in 2001, and a year later to Mr
Fernandes during an official visit to Italy. It could not be
ascertained how and why the Italian company was of the view that the
AJT contract was still open, particularly as the deal between India and
the UK firm made prominent headlines in the international press. Aermacchi has sought to convince Mr Pranab Mukherjee that its AJT
M-346 is superior to the British Hawk with a chart listing its better
features. "Avoiding to enter into deeper technical considerations, may
we simply add that the M-346 will outperform the Hawk in every aspect,
at a comparable, if not lower price and employing a much more modern
technology than the British aircraft one, with the additional advantage
of a twin engine configuration which implies higher safety for the
pilots and much lower attrition rates," the letter states. The renewed offer for a deal already struck includes the sales
rights of the M-346 to India "for specific geographic areas to be
agreed upon at a later stage." Aermacchi also informed the defence
minister that the first series aircraft deliveries could begin from
2008. The M-346 programme is fully financed by the Italian government
and "takes benefit from the design and development work previously
carried out in conjunction with the Russian Yakovlev Design Bireai for
the Yak/Aem-130 aircraft," according to the letter. It also claims that
technologically "no existing advanced trainer (nor any new one today
still on the drawing board) will be able to match the outstanding
performance" of the Italian AJT. Interestingly, the letter from Aermacchi notes at the onset that
since the decision on the acquisition of the AJY has not been finalised
as yet, "would you please find herein some general information on the
M-346 and an unsolicited proposal which, we believe, would be able to
satisfy both the most urgent present needs and the more demanding
future training requirements of the Indian Air Force in the most
cost-effective way."