10:14 GMT, July 3, 2009 In a major setback to the Indian Defence Forces, the highly anticipated project of the indigenous medium-lift helicopter by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has encountered another delay, as reported by India Defence Online. The tender which was floated by HAL to select a global partner for co-developing the 10-12 tonne class helicopters has been dropped.

The global tender was released by HAL for selecting a partner for co-developing the helicopter and French firm Eurocopter and Russian Mil were shortlisted for the contract. The helicopters were for the civilian and military market and they were suppose to replace older versions of the Russian Mi-17s flying with the armed forces. HAL and the chosen partner were supposed to produce around 350 of these helicopters over a period of 10-15 years.

However, since the Armed Forces’ specifications for their requirements in the chopper were altered during the tender process, the tender was cancelled.

Defence Ministry officials revealed that HAL will produce another tender in a couple of months that will be in accordance to the specification of the Armed Forces.