No info on scrapping deal on buying BSF plane: Airbus Military

With the Home Ministry likely to scrap a deal for procuring two transport planes for the Border Security Force, Airbus Military - one of the contenders in the tender, today said it has not been informed about any such step to be taken by the Government.

With the Home Ministry likely to scrap a deal for procuring two transport planes for the Border Security Force, Airbus Military - one of the contenders in the tender, today said it has not been informed about any such step to be taken by the Government.

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The Ministry is contemplating re-issuing the tender after BSF officials alleged that their signatures were forged by IAF officials on the Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC) report for contract.

"We have not heard about any such thing... we can tell you that our C-295 aircraft has undergone trials for the last one year and is fully compliant with the BSF requirements," Airbus Military's Communication Barbara Kracht told reporters here.

After the incident came into light, the Indian Air Force, which assists the Home Ministry in procuring aerial assets, ordered a Court of Inquiry (CoI) to verify the allegations levelled by BSF officers.

Commenting on media reports suggesting that Airbus had modified its aircraft during the trials, Airbus Military's Didier Vermett said, "All these reports are false."

Asked about its participation in mid-air refuelling tanker aircraft deal of the IAF, Vermett said, "We have already submitted our bid for the tender."

The tender has been re-issued after the Finance Ministry rejected IAF's selection of the Airbus A330 MRTT over the Russian IL-78 for being too expensive and compelled the IAF to start again.

As per the procurement rules, if more than one equipment meets the requirements stated by the Defence Ministry, the one with the lowest cost is to be selected.

India is planning to add six more tanker aircraft in its fleet of six Russian-origin Ilyushin-78 aircraft.