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Old 30th Jan 2014, 13:57
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prehar
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
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Lonewolf ,
VIP s in India generally need to travel across the country in a BBJ and move to a smaller helipad in a helicopter from the nearest airfield .
Given this basic requirement and the fact that the last 50-100 miles may take them to a desert , mountainous or built up helipad I don't see a great advantage in the V-22 as compared to a conventional helicopter vis a vis it's cost of procurement / operation / maintenance .
With regard to the Indian Aerospace industry and the military .....the Army and the IAF would love to lay their hands on a tilt rotor ....maybe the VIP V-22 will give them a first look !!
India is in the process of raising its first Mountain Strike Corps of about 80000 soldiers (with elements similar to the 101 Airborne ) keeping the Chinese threat in mind .
Most military analysts speculate that such a force would need assets that can transport men and material from the Indian plains across the mountains into Tibet .....maybe the V-22 could figure in that calculus along with other helicopters like the Chinook / CH-53s / Mi-38 .
However , for the Aerospace industry a Bell -609 may hold more promise in terms of license production and component manufacture looking ahead .
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