NEW DELHI — As India moves to cancel its scandal-tainted contract with AgustaWestland to supply AW101 helicopters, the company’s former rival in the tender, Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., is advancing an alternative. “If we are called upon as a sequel to the process, we will be more than willing to come forward and address the requirements,” says Arvind Jeet Singh Walia, Sikorsky’s regional executive for India and South Asia. India signed the 35.46 billion rupee ($720 million) contract with AgustaWestland in February 2010 to buy 12 AW101 helicopters.

Air India has issued a fresh global tender for the lease of 19 new Airbus A320 aircraft, after the financially troubled airline’s first bid in August failed to attract any lessors. “As part of its effort to reduce costs and optimize revenue, Air India intends to procure new A320s with Sharklet fuel-saving wing-tip devices, powered by CFM56-5B4/3 PIP engines, on dry lease for a lease period of maximum up to 12 years, up from the six-year lease period it planned in August,” an airline spokesman tells Aviation Week. The airline will accept bids until Nov. 19.

NEW DELHI — The Indian air force (IAF) completed the flight of its first upgraded Mirage 2000 at the Istres-Le Tubé air base in France early this month, according to a spokesman of manufacturer Dassault Aviation. Faced with a depleted tactical air capability and an inordinate delay in signing the Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) deal, the IAF is pushing to expedite the upgrading of its Mirage 2000s. The first upgraded Dassault Mirage 2000H is likely to be delivered in August or September 2014, says an IAF official.