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| US to be biggest exhibitor at defence expo |
| BS Reporter / New Delhi Feb 15, 2010, 00:30 IST |
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The United States, represented by 25 companies, will be the biggest exhibitor at Defexpo 2010, the biannual exhibition of land and naval defence systems that begins tomorrow. Israel, which has emerged as a leading supplier of weaponry and equipment to the Indian defence forces since 1999, will occupy the largest exhibit space at 1,248 square metres.
Defexpo 2010 is the 6th Land and Naval Defence Systems exhibition organised by the Indian defence ministry, and will cover nearly twice the exhibit space — roughly 30,100 square metres — compared to 17,200 square metres in 2008.
About 650 defence companies from 35 countries will display weapons and equipment, hoping to make sales. India is expected to spend Rs 4.6 lakh crore on defence equipment over the next 15 years.
“India is aiming at better partnerships between foreign defence original equipment manufacturers and domestic state-owned and private companies to increase the manufacturing and system integration of both land and naval systems during Defexpo 2010,” said R K Singh, secretary of the department of defence production.
Singh claimed that the four-day event would be the largest defence exposition in Asia and will showcase India’s emergence as an attractive investment destination for the defence sector and promote industry alliances and joint ventures.
The exhibition will be inaugurated by Defence Minister A K Antony, who will also address a press conference tomorrow.
Official sources said earlier this month that the government had signed defence offsets deal worth Rs 1,200 crore and deals amounting to Rs 49,000 crore were under various stages of consideration.
This is one reason why Defexpo is getting bigger every year — more and more Indian companies are offering themselves as offset partners.
Ahead of Defexpo, Boeing said it had signed a $4.7-million (about Rs 21 crore) contract with India’s state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL). Under this contract, HAL will supply the first set of doors to Boeing by December 2010.
“This contract is part of our offset obligation of $640 million (about Rs 2,900 crore) for the P-8I programme,” said Vivek Lall, vice-president and India country head for Boeing Defense Space & Security. The contract is part of orders for eight P-8I planes received by Boeing from the Indian Navy in January 2009.
The deal for eight P-8I planes is valued at $2.1 billion (about Rs 9,760 crore).
Among the most important systems being showcased at the Defexpo 2010 are India’s first indigenous Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) christened ‘TERP-II’, manufactured by MKU. A prototype of the UAV will on display, although the product itself will be launched later in the year.
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) will showcase the Sub-Machine Carbine (SMC), a lightweight 5.56-mm calibre weapon which allows soldiers to fight close-range battles with terrorist or similar opponents, developed by the Armaments Research and Development Establishment (ARDE), a DRDO laboratory based in Pune.
State-run Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) will display its Network Centric Warfare (NCW) capabilities and solutions. These customer-specific solutions cover the requirements of the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force.
In the short term, for the international defence manufacturing community, India is an attractive buyer. Planned army equipment purchases include 155-mm guns on a fast-track basis, air defence systems and a variety of helicopters.
The air force is likely to finalise the $10-billion (about Rs 46,500 crore) purchase of 126 fighter jets under the medium-range multi-role combat aircraft programme.
The navy will put into orbit a dedicated military satellite in 2010, and enter the global market for the purchase of six more submarines worth $5 billion (about Rs 23,000 crore).
India’s most ambitious homegrown aircraft programme, the Light Combat Aircraft, awaits a final decision on which engine will power it. The choice is between General Electric’s GE 414 and Eurojet’s EJ 2000.
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