NEW DELHI—India’s Defense Acquisition Council (DAC) cleared long-pending projects worth over $13.1 billion during an Oct. 25 meeting, including a proposal to buy 12 upgraded Dornier surveillance aircraft for the navy. As part of the new government’s insistence on home-grown products, the navy will buy the aircraft from state-run aircraft maker Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) at a cost of $310 million. Though no delivery schedule has been fixed, HAL hopes to deliver the aircraft from 2016 through 2019.
Indian LCC IndiGo has given Airbus its largest single order to date, for 250 new A320neos. A successful IPO in a still tumultuous air transport market will be key to fund the order—and it would cement IndiGo’s position as India’s leading domestic airline.
