8 Aircraft and 4 Helicopter Crashes to Date: Defence Ministry

According to information conveyed by Indian Defence Minister, A.K. Antony, to the Rajya Sabha, a total of 8 fighter aircrafts and 4 helicopters, belonging to country's armed forces, have crashed between the period Jan. 1, 2011 and Dec. 2, 2011. A total of 9 pilots/service personnel and 1 civilian were killed in these cases. The primary causes of the crashes were human error and technical defects, he added.

The Minister emphasized that every accident was thoroughly investigated by a Court of Inquiry (CoI) to ascertain its cause(s) and suggest remedial measures to prevent similar crashes.

Furthermore, he also said the government has not inked any follow-on deal for acquiring nine additional C-130J Super Hercules military transport aircraft from the U.S. However, he added that a Letter of Request (LoR) has been issued to the U.S. Government for the procurement of the additional aircraft.

In addition, a proposal for the procurement of 75 Basic Trainer Aircrafts (BTA) was being processed but no contracts have, so far, been signed. The costs will be finalized once the contracts are, in fact, signed.

The ongoing capacity building of the Indian Air Force is a continual effort to meet changing security challenges inside and outside the country.

Meanwhile, according to a statement by the Defence Ministry, there is a proposal to procure IL-76 based Airbone Warning and Control System (AWACS) from M/s ELTA Systems Limited, Israel, under the Option Clause of a previous contract signed in March, 2004.