The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : GTRE issues fresh request for proposal for Kaveri engine

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Dec 27, 2006
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

GTRE issues fresh request for proposal for Kaveri engine

Ravi Sharma

STILL IN LIMBO: A file picture of the Kaveri engine

Bangalore: A fresh request for proposal for developing the Kaveri engine for the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) has been issued by the Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE), a Bangalore-based Ministry of Defence research and development organisation. For the last 17 years, GTRE has been unsuccessfully trying to develop the engine.

It is for the second time that GTRE is sending out a request for proposal for a global engine designer who will partner it either in developing the Kaveri engine, or in launching and developing a new engine.

The request for proposal, which was issued last week, has been sent to two combat aircraft engine designers — Snecma Moteurs of France and NPO-Saturn of Russia.

GTRE is expected to form a joint venture company with the chosen partner, with the new company financing and developing the engine that will eventually fly the LCA.

Snecma Moteurs and NPO-Saturn have been asked to submit their responses by the end of January 2007. This may not happen as the deadline falls within the Christmas holiday week.

GTRE had issued a request for proposal in 2005. After incurring an expenditure of Rs. 1,500 crore, it came to the conclusion that it would not be able to independently develop an engine for the LCA. Setting out a two-month deadline — which ended in October 2005 — for receiving responses to the request for proposal, GTRE had even indicated that they would like the resultant JVC to get working by January 2006.

Three aircraft designers Pratt and Whitney from the U.S., Snecma and NPO-Saturn had responded well in time to the request for proposal, with their responses evaluated by a technical evaluation committee, headed by the former Aeronautical Development Agency director K.V.L. Rao.

Ironically the committee, which had representatives from GTRE, Hindustan Aeronautical Limited (HAL), Ministry of Defence, and the Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification, had no representation from the end user, the Indian Air Force (IAF).

Though the technical committee submitted its report earlier this year, questions raised by HAL, the production agency, on the modalities to be employed in the post-design stage of the engine, was the reason for the request for proposal to fall through and a new one issued.

According to sources, "all of HAL's post-design, production phase requirements" have been incorporated in the new request for proposal. Justifying HAL's queries, A.K. Saxena, managing director (Bangalore Complex), told The Hindu that "productionisation and maintenance were long-term commitments" which had to be decided before the design phase got off the ground.

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