New Delhi – The long-awaited induction of the basic trainer aircraft for the Indian Air Force (IAF) is nearing fruition as the flight trials for the same have been completed. According to sources, the reports of the trials are with the Indian Defence Ministry and they are assessing the flight evaluations made by the IAF which will lead to the negotiation of the contract. The flight trials comprised of observing the details like flight characteristics, handling qualities, fuel consumption, and duration of sorties, ease of handling and operations, and available instrumentation.
The IAF plans to procure 75 basic trainers in a deal close to $1 billion. The Indian Defence Ministry’s initial Request for Proposal in early 2010 sought the purchase of 75 aircraft “off-the-shelf” and another 106 to be built by state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) under a joint venture arrangement. The current contenders are the Hawker Beechcraft T-6C Texan II, the Grob G-120, the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) KT-1, the Pilatus PC-7 and EADS’ PZL-130 Orlik.
