This isn’t a coincidence.
It’s a pattern.

The Adani Group has signed an MoU with Leonardo to set up an integrated helicopter manufacturing ecosystem in india, positioned to chase 1,000 military helicopters worth tens of thousands of crores.

The same Leonardo that was implicated in the ₹3,600-crore VVIP chopper bribery scandal, blacklisted from 2014–2019, and then quietly resurrected in november 2021.

The same Leonardo is now re-entering India’s defence ecosystem—this time via proximity to power.

This isn’t industrial policy.
This is policy capture.

🧨 THE PATTERN NO ONE IS SUPPOSED TO CONNECT

1️⃣ Blacklisted to Back in Business—Without Public Reckoning
Leonardo’s past isn’t disputed. The VVIP chopper scandal shook India’s defence establishment and led to a multi-year blacklist. Yet in november 2021, the doors reopened—no parliamentary debate, no public white paper, no transparent reassessment. Just… reinstatement.

2️⃣ MoU Today, Mega Orders Tomorrow
The Adani-Leonardo MoU doesn’t award a contract—yet. But it builds eligibility, infrastructure, and positioning for future tenders. This is how outcomes are pre-decided before bids are even floated.

3️⃣ HAL Delivers. Private Players Get the Fast Lane.
In march 2025, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited secured a ₹62,700-crore order for 156 LCH Prachand helicopters—a proven indigenous platform. And suddenly, private competition in rotary-wing manufacturing is being incubated with state blessing. Coincidence? Or crowding out by design?

4️⃣ Who Was in the Room—and Why That Matters
The MoU signing wasn’t a casual corporate affair. RK Singh, the Defence Secretary, and DG Acquisition were present. When top procurement authorities attend private MoUs, it signals future intent—loudly.

5️⃣ The Same Playbook, Replayed

• Rules amended to fit a shortlist (Submarine project, 2020).

• Eligibility engineered via acquisitions (Air Works MRO for ₹400 crore, Dec 2024).

• MoUs are used to bypass open competition and seed future contracts.
  Different sectors. Same script.

• 
  

6️⃣ Article 299 Exists for a Reason
India’s Constitution mandates transparent government contracting under Article 299. The MoU route may be legal on paper—but when it sidesteps competitive tendering, it guts the spirit of public procurement and invites conflicts of interest.

7️⃣ Indigenous Capacity Wasn’t the Problem
HAL exists. The ecosystem exists. Orders are being delivered. The question isn’t whether India can build helicopters?
It’s why we are creating parallel private ecosystems for entities with tainted histories—at public risk?

🧯 THE BOTTOM LINE:

This isn’t Atmanirbhar Bharat.
It’s Atmanirbhar Adani.

When a previously blacklisted defence firm is fast-tracked back into India’s military supply chain—through MoUs, proximity, and policy tweaks—while indigenous PSUs already deliver, the nation is owed answers.

Why this firm? Why this route? Why now?
Because defence manufacturing isn’t just a business.

It’s national security.

And national security cannot be outsourced to proximity capitalism—no matter how polished the press release.