MoD looks to induct foreign choppers in Navy, expert advises otherwise

On November 19, the MoD asked HAL for its comments. HAL has replied that it is "generally in agreement with the viewpoints provided by the consultant"

With the Ministry of Defence (MoD) poised to sanction on Friday a Rs 21,738-crore project to build 111 naval utility helicopters (NUH) in an Indian private sector firm, a MoD expert has suggested the project be scrapped.

The MoD and the Navy want the NUH to be a foreign helicopter, built through the strategic partner (SP) model. This involves selecting a deep-pocketed Indian private firm as the SP, which will build the helicopters in India using technology supplied by a separately selected foreign original equipment manufacturer (OEM).

However, former integrated defence staff chief, Vice Admiral Raman Puri (retired), who the department of