Bell Helicopter abandons effort to win India military contract

[babylonsister]

Bell Helicopter abandons effort to win India military contract
By Bob Cox | Fort Worth Star-Telegram


Bell Helicopter is finding that trying to do business with India's government and military can be difficult.

Bell officials decided last week to withdraw from a competition to sell 197 reconnaissance helicopters to India because requirements for offset work were too onerous.

"The bottom line is it was unaffordable," said Joe LaMarca, senior vice president of communications.

The decision caps a nine-year effort by Bell to sell helicopters to India.

snip//

As the process unfolded, LaMarca said, Bell officials decided that pursuing the contract was no longer feasible because India was demanding industrial offsets — essentially work for Indian companies — equal to half the contract’s value.

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