U.S. aerospace giant Lockheed Martin is keen on doing business in the defence sector and the private industry in India and exploring possibilities for tie-ups to this effect. “We are expecting the nod from the Governments in the U.S. and India,” said Jagmohan Singh, Senior director of the company in India.
He was speaking on the sidelines of the three-day Def+Contract India 2011, an international exhibition being organised by the National Small Industries Corporation and the Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises, with the active involvement of defence public sector undertakings here on Friday.
Elaborating on the involvement, Lockheed Martin was already working with Bharat Dynamics and other component suppliers and those in the sub-contracting business in the defence sector, he said, adding that the company hoped to go ahead in the anti-tank guided missiles area, clearances for which were awaited.
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The proposals were in the initial stages but once the nod was received, they would look around to setting up facilities here and the places that were likely to be narrowed down, included Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai, Mr. Singh said. “We have solutions that will work well for the defence forces here,” he said. The exhibition revealed that several foreign defence companies were looking out for partnerships here on aircraft, missiles, radars and shipbuilding programmes, to cite a few.
Lockheed Martin is one of six global corporations in the race to bid to supply 126 fighter aircraft to India under the Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA), a deal estimated to cost $10.2 billion and expected to be finalised by September this year. He said the F-16 IN Super Viper planes on offer to India was state-of-the-art and the most advanced technology currently available.