New Delhi (Sputnik) — In what could turn the fortunes of India's private defense firms, the country's defense ministry has floated a $1.5 billion tender inviting domestic manufacturers to supply 61 air defense gun systems for the Indian Air Force.
"The tender which has been issued to domestic firms like Bharat Electronics Ltd, Ordnance Factory Board, L&T, Tata Power SED, Punj Lloyd will cost more than $1.5 billion," an Indian defense ministry official said on condition of anonymity.
The shortlisted domestic manufacturers will have to locally manufacture the system in collaboration with a foreign original manufacturer and at least 50% of the components of the air defense gun system would need to be locally sourced as per the tender requirements, a defense source told Sputnik.
The Indian government had made an attempt in 2013 through a tender for air defense guns, ammunition, and technology transfer to build CIWS locally for the Indian Army but it failed to do so as original manufacturers from Russia, Poland, Israel and Britain deemed the qualitative requirements for the air defense guns "unreasonable" and "over-ambitious."
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