Airbus whistleblower's graft leak scuppered chopper deal?
New Delhi, May 12: Even as it is buffeted by bribery probes in several countries, aviation major Airbuss operation in India has flown into turbulence with reports of a whistleblower alleging graft in a chopper deal and the leak of sensitive classified information causing alarm in the government.
The Economic Times on Friday reported that Airbus Group has informed the Defence Ministry of an internal investigation into the allegations of the whistleblower over the tender for 14 twin-engine EC725 helicopters for the Indian Coast Guard. The deal is estimated to be worth Rs 2,000 crore.
According to the report, what has alarmed the government is that the whistleblower's letter making the allegation of graft had several highly classified documents attached to it.
When contacted, a senior Airbus Spokesperson said: "Airbus takes all whistleblower allegations very seriously and investigates such allegations thoroughly to ascertain any breach of its code of ethics and compliance. Airbus is fully dedicated to complying with its commitments and obligations under the Indian law."
He added: "Airbus will not comment on details of the press report concerning an Airbus Helicopter campaign."
Earlier, in February, Airbus had expressed that the commercial bid for the chopper deal that it had won, valid till February 15, had not been extended - and had therefore lapsed. Airbus had, however, refused to give any further details or the reasons behind the decision.
It is now being speculated that the whistleblower's allegation and the leak of documents, which first surfaced in December last year, may have been the reason for the non-extension of its commercial bid for the chopper deal.
According to the ET report, the anonymous letter sent to the Defence Ministry alleged that "benchmarking norms were changed and spare engine price calculations were hidden to favour Airbus and named three top coast guard officers as beneficiaries".
The report also alleged that "fugitive arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari and former business consultant Deepak Talwar, both of whom left the country after cases were registered against them by investigating agencies, acted as agents for Airbus".
The chopper deal was important for the Indian Coast Guard as it would have fulfilled its requirement for an advanced helicopter to step up its maritime surveillance so as to prevent a repeat of the Mumbai terror attacks of 2008.
Currently, the Coast Guard has aging Chetak helicopters and the Advanced Light Helicopter --Dhruv -- in its fleet.
While the Defence Ministry first began its conversation with Airbus almost six years back, the commercial bid for 14 of these medium lift helicopters was made in 2015, and Airbus had emerged as the lowest bidder.
The deal also involved offsets worth Rs 600 crore, and a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility was to be set up in Goa.
"Airbus is engaged with the Indian Coast Guard and the Ministry of Defence to fulfil the need for 14 twin-engine heavy duty choppers following a campaign in which Airbus emerged as the lowest bidder by a very wide margin," the Airbus spokesperson told here.
Airbus's India troubles come at a time it is bracing for a difficult landing over corruption allegations in several countries. According to media reports, the company's woes are a result of its use of "commercial agents" - or intermediaries -- who specialise in "difficult" territories where they can assist multinationals in securing contracts.
Often characterised as consultancy, such work can be legitimate where it involves technical advice, such as regulatory best practice when bidding for a government contract. In other instances, it is nothing more than a euphemism for knowing who to bribe and for how much, a report in The Guardian newspaper said.
According to another media report, trouble for the group began in 2014, when an internal review of supplier payments at Airbus exposed irregularities. It ended up reporting itself to Britain's Serious Fraud Office and to France's equivalent body for lying to export-credit agencies about bribes given by third-party consultants to secure sales.
In October last year, Airbus said it may have violated American rules on arms exports because of fees paid to sales agents to secure deals. Austrian and German authorities are also investigating bribery claims tied to the sale of $2.1 bn-worth of Eurofighter jets back in 2003, the report said.
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India harbouring big and bold dreams in space sector: Shubhanshu Shukla
Kolkata (PTI): Air Force Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, the first Indian astronaut to go to the International Space Station, on Wednesday said the country is harbouring “big and bold dreams”, foraying into human spaceflight after a hiatus of 41 years.
Shukla was the first Indian to visit the International Space Station as part of the Axiom-4 mission. He returned to India from the US on August 17, 2025, after the 18-day mission.
The space is a “great place to be”, marked by deep peace and an “amazing view” that becomes more captivating with time, he said, interacting with schoolchildren at an event organised by the Indian Centre for Space Physics here.
“The longer you stay, the more you enjoy it,” Shukla said, adding on a lighter note that he “actually kind of did not want to come back”.
Shukla said the hands-on experience in space was very different from what he had learnt during training.
He said the future of India’s space science was “very bright”, with the country harbouring “very big and bold dreams”.
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Shukla described his ISS flight, undertaken with support from the US, as a crucial “stepping stone” towards realising India’s ‘Vision Gaganyaan’.
“The experience gained is a national asset. It is already being used by internal committees and design teams to ensure ongoing missions are on the right track,” he said.
Shukla said the country’s space ambitions include the Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme, the Bharatiya Station (India’s own space station), and eventually a human landing on the Moon.
While the Moon mission is targeted for 2040, he said these projects are already in the pipeline, and the field will evolve at a “very rapid pace” over the next 10-20 years.
He told the students that though these targets are challenging, they are “achievable by people like you”, urging them to take ownership of India’s aspirations.
The sector will generate “a lot of employment opportunities” as India expands its human spaceflight capabilities, he noted.
Echoing the iconic words of India’s first astronaut Rakesh Sharma, Shukla said that from orbit, “India is still the best in the world”.
Shukla also asserted that the achievement was not his alone, but that of the entire country.
“The youth of India are extremely talented. They must stay focused, remain curious and work hard. It is their responsibility to help build a developed India by 2047,” he said.
Highlighting a shift from Sharma’s era, Shukla said India is now developing a full-fledged astronaut ecosystem.
With Gaganyaan and future missions, children in India will be able to not only dream of becoming astronauts, but also achieving it within the country, he said.
“Space missions help a village kid believe he can go to space someday. When you send one person to space, you lift million hopes. That is why such programmes must continue... The sky is not the limit,” Shukla said.
“Scientists must prepare for systems that will last 20-30 years, while ensuring they can integrate technologies that will emerge a decade from now,” he said.
Shukla added that he looked forward to more space missions, and was keen to undertake a space walk, which will require him to "train for another two years".
