India wants global partnerships in aviation: Fernandes

Thursday, 06 February 2003, 20:30 IST
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BANGALORE: After decades of depending on technology imports, India Wednesday said it wanted to forge global partnerships to develop state-of-the-art military aircraft and weapon systems. Opening the Aero India exhibition here, Defence Minister George Fernandes urged foreign companies to use India's hi-tech and cost-effective aviation infrastructure to develop military and civilian aircraft, including jet fighters and multi-role transport aircraft. India, he noted, had carved a niche for itself in the aeronautics sector through the development of aircraft like the advanced light helicopter (ALH) and the supersonic light combat aircraft (LCA), which was in final tests before entering serial production. "Having opened defence production to the private sector, with foreign direct investment up to 26 percent, we are looking forward to creating a defence industrial base capable of producing world class equipment at highly competitive prices," he said. Despite a protracted gestation period and problems arising from sanctions by Western countries that held up supplies of engines and components, Indian officials are describing the ALH and LCA programmes as major successes. The ALH has entered service with India's armed forces and Coast Guard, while two LCA prototypes have gone through several tests. One of these prototypes was flown at high speeds at the Aero India show Wednesday. Fernandes noted that state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) -- which has made Russian-designed fighters under license for several decades -- was now collaborating with Russian firms to develop 50 and 100-seater aircraft with a eye to "the stupendous growth of civil aviation in the country and South Asia". HAL currently has several manufacturing plants across the country, and by using its infrastructure, India and potential partners could "reduce the overall costs and jointly develop state-of-the-art aviation projects," Fernandes said. "Having done this, we could even plan out a strategy of joint marketing. With high degree of skill and relatively lower manpower costs, India provides an excellent opportunity for all buyers and sellers." HAL's effort to forge international partnerships too have borne fruit in recent months, with the Israel Aircraft Industries announcing a tie-up to put a version of the ALH fitted with Israeli avionics and weapon systems on the global market. The tie-up was announced at the Aero India show, which has attracted 176 companies from 22 countries. A total of 69 military and civil aircraft, including 16 foreign aircraft, will be displayed at the show. During the five-day exhibition, there will be flying demonstrations of top aircraft like the Czech Republic's L-159B jet trainer, the Hawk trainer from Britain's BAe Systems, the 407 helicopter from America's Bell and Russia's MiG-29M2 fighter.
Source: IANS
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