Raytheon eyes $1 Billion Indian civilian business by 2018
Thursday, 23 October 2008, 16:44 IST
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Hyderabad: Global defence and aviation major, the $21.3 billion Raytheon of the U.S., sees a $1 billion business potential in the Indian civilian sector alone over the next 5-10 years. The company is currently leading the race to bag a $196-million contract to supply technology for India's first satellite-based global aviation navigation system, called Gagan. "India offers tremendous business potential for us," said Raytheon's director of business development and strategic planning Fred A. Treyz III, who was part of his company's delegation to the civil aviation show here last week. "Although we are looking at about $100-200 million of business in the next two to three years, this figure can easily go up to $1 billion in the next 5-10 years," Treyz told IANS. "Besides satellite based navigation systems, we can offer various kinds of airport security and traffic control infrastructure, open road tolling systems and homeland security solutions." Currently, Raytheon is leading a team of companies that has bid for the final implementation phase of the Global Positioning Satellite-Aided Geosynchronous Augmented Navigation system, or Gagan, after having successfully deployed the technology demonstration system over the past several years. Recently, India's Cabinet Committee for Economic Affairs granted approval to the state-run Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to implement Gagan. "As we have already successfully demonstrated the technology, we should get the contract and we expect to sign a memorandum of understanding with ISRO and AAI later this year," Treyz said. "Being close to the equator, India poses many technological challenges and we can partner ISRO and AAI to market the system we have developed in other countries close to the equator," he said. He said the company, which was extending solutions for airport security, could also provide homeland security solutions to the government since borders were like airports, which let in people from outside the country. "Similarly, we can provide satellite-based systems whereby trucks don't have to stop for paying road tolls or getting weighed for entry tax payments." All this put together can command business worth $1 billion from the civilian sector over the next 5-10 years - over and above the business potential for weapons systems and other defence equipment, the Raytheon executive said.
Source: IANS
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