Aero India 2011 News

Bangalore: Brazil’s Embraer S.A. may develop a basic turboprop trainer aircraft jointly with India to meet potential demand from the air forces in both nations, a senior company executive said Friday.
Embraer expects also to shortly win a contract from India to supply nine multi-mission aircraft, Orlando J F Neto, executive vice president for defense market, said.
Embraer is among several defense companies worldwide who are participating at the ongoing Aero India show on expectations that the south Asian country will buy more weapons, aircraft and other defense equipment to modernize its armed forces. India’s federal government has allocated a military budget of 1.47 trillion rupees ($32.23 billion) in the current fiscal year through March.
Mr. Neto said the Brazilian air force currently has between 100 and 150 Tucano turboprop trainer aircraft–manufactured by Embraer–which will need to be upgraded or replaced with a new trainer aircraft by 2018.
“So, we will also have a room for replacement and so there is a scope to co-develop and co-produce a basic trainer,” Mr. Neto said. “Both countries can probably spend the money equally and produce about 100-150 planes each.”
11/02/11 Santanu Choudhury/Wall Street Journal