Rebutting CAG's findings in the Rs 3,727-crore VVIP chopper deal, AgustaWestland has claimed the alteration of the cabin height and other specifications in the tender did not result in a single vendor situation.
In a letter written by its India head Jackie Callcut to CAG Shashikant Sharma, the Anglo Italian firm has claimed that the alteration of cabin height requirements from 1.45m to 1.8m did not lead to the ejection of any competing aircraft, as stated in the government auditor's report.
It also claimed that had the service ceiling of the competing choppers been 6,000 m, it would have met the requirements as it had informed the Air Headquarters about its capabilities in a letter written in June 2005.
"The cabin height requirement of 1.8m did not lead to ejection of any competing aircraft. All aircraft met or exceeded this requirement," the letter said.
In its report tabled last month, the CAG slammed the Defence Ministry and Air Force for "several instances" of deviation from rules in the procurement of VVIP choppers in the AgustaWestland chopper deal signed in 2010.
On the cabin height requirements, the CAG had said the "fact remains that by making the cabin height of 1.8m a mandatory requirement, the competition was restricted, resulting in a single vendor situation".
On the CAG observation that the flight evaluation trials of the AgustaWestland choppers were carried out on representative choppers and not the military versions, the firm stated that it had offered "actual" aircraft which are being flown by the armed forces of the UK.