From the Adani group making its debut with a drone project with Israel to Reliance Defence tying up with a UAE company for composites and state owned HAL revealing a combat version of the Hawk trainer with BAE, joint development of military systems has been the theme of India's top air show that kicked off here on Tuesday .While in the past, stand alone projects were the top draw, with Indian companies and PSUs focused on the `self dependency' theme, a more realistic approach was visible at the show this year. The focus now was on jointly developing new systems and value adding onto existing platforms for both the Indian and export market.
The top showcase on day one of the show was the HAL-BAE project for a combat version of the Hawk trainer. The Advanced Hawk, which has been in the works for two years, is expected to fly shortly and is aimed at the export market. “ Advanced Hawk is a great example of Make in India, for India and Export from India," Alan Garwood, group business development director, BAE Systems said.
The Adani Group, that entered the defence business in 2015, also choose a joint project for its debut at the air show. Its newly-formed entity, the Adani-Elbit Advanced Systems India Limited, had the Hermes 900 multi-role unmanned aerial system on display. The project being aimed for is a naval requirement for UAVs that is expected to roll out shortly.
Planning big, the entity aims at building defence manufacturing facilities at the Mundra Aeropark and SEZ. The company says that its vision is to `help build a secure nation aligned with Adani's vision of nation building'.
Reliance Defence, which has recently announced a major tie up with the US Navy to service the 7th fleet at its Pipavav shipyard, will be tying up with a UAE firm to make composite structures in India. Vital to all aerospace structures, there is a high demand for composites in India and a tie-up with a UAE company has strategic implications as well.
Its promoter Anil Ambani is also scheduled for a sortie in the Rafale fighter jet. Reliance defence is a major offset partner for the Indian Rafale deal as well.
Government-owned Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) also announced a tie-up with European firm Thales, with a plan to transfer technology for an anti-air missile system that is being showcased as undefeatable by any known jamming system in the world.
Earlier, a day before the air show, L&T announced a strategic tie up with French weapons manufacturer MBDA with its main focus on jointly producing a new generation of anti-tank missiles for an upcoming project for armoured infantry vehicles.
While the realistic approach on joint development is refreshing, most of these projects still hinge on the Indian armed forces ordering some quantities of the products on offer. However, with several domestic buy projects stalled at various levels, there is little clarity on when the announced plans would take off.
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