Saturday, May 22, 2010

DTN News: India Consults EADS For HAL Tejas LCA Naval Variant; Lockheed Martin Left Out

DTN News: India Consults EADS For HAL Tejas LCA Naval Variant; Lockheed Martin Left Out
Source: DTN News / Defence19
(NSI News Source Info) NEW DELHI, India - May 22, 2010: As Lockheed Martin fails to secure timely licensing approvals from the U.S. State Department, India has now reportedly turned to European aerospace giant EADS. Lockheed Martin was the initial winner for the bid for consultancy work for the naval variant of the HAL Tejas Light Combat Aircraft. This is the second time delays and red tapism within the United States Administration have lead to an American company losing out on contracts in India. In April 2009, EADS again was the benefitiary as Boeing was forced to withdraw from the HAL Tejas LCA flight test contract. The Naval variant of the HAL Tejas LCA is being design for short take-offs, arrested recovery (Stobar). The first flight of the nval variant has been planned for December 2010. According to AviationNow, EADS has confirmed that it has a consultancy contract but has refused to disclose more details. Reportedly the consultancy on the naval LCA involves auditing the aircraft’s current configuration and optimizing the aircraft’s landing gear and arrestor hook design. The intent is also to reduce the aircraft’s all-up weight by around 1,000 lb.

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