Defence manufacturer Nibe Ltd has clarified that it has not received any confirmation regarding the award of the Indian Army's tender for the procurement of loitering munitions worth around ₹600 crore, following media reports suggesting that the company had emerged as one of the successful bidders.
According to a Reuters report, the company issued the clarification after reports claimed that Tata Advanced Systems and Nibe Ltd had emerged as the lowest bidders in the Army's tender for 100-km-range loitering munitions.
The clarification came after Nibe's shares witnessed a sharp rally, ending the trading session nearly 10 per cent higher.
Earlier, news agency ANI, citing defence sources, had reported that Tata Advanced Systems had emerged as the lowest bidder (L-1) and was expected to supply 64 per cent of the Army's requirement.
The report further stated that Nibe had emerged as the second-lowest bidder (L-2) and was expected to supply the remaining 36 per cent of the loitering munitions.
According to the report, the Tata Group's share of the order could be worth around ₹1,000 crore, while Nibe Ltd was expected to receive orders worth about ₹600 crore.
The ANI report had also stated that Nibe Ltd participated in the tender with its Vayuastra loitering munition, based on SkyStriker drones, and had successfully cleared the technical evaluation conducted as part of the procurement process.
However, Nibe has now clarified that it has not received any official confirmation regarding the award of the tender.
