india

Updated: Jun 04, 2019 01:13 IST

A plan to build 111 naval utility helicopters in India under the ‘strategic partnership’ model to replace the navy’s outdated fleet of French-designed Chetak choppers moved forward on Monday, with the opening of the technical bids of the foreign firms competing for the project.

US firm Lockheed Martin, European Airbus Helicopters and Russian Helicopters are eyeing the ₹21,738-crore project that involves manufacturing the choppers in India in partnership with Indian firms. The project will take several years as several key processes have to be completed, senior officials said.