Palak Gupta

The US aerospace giant Boeing stands out from other global Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) because of its multi-faceted and holistic approach towards India’s push for modernisation of its armed forces. Not only does the company provide modern, advanced warfare capabilities but it also works on developing futuristic technology so as to keep pace with the dynamic and ever-evolving domains of war — land, air, sea, cyber and space.

Vice president, global sales – India, Boeing Defence, Space & Security, Thomas Breckenridge

Boeing has three different units — Boeing commercial aircraft, Boeing Defence, and Boeing Global Services. The latter was established in 2017, with engineering, digital analytics, supply chain and training support spanning across both the government and commercial service offerings. And as its vice president, global sales and marketing, International Government and Defence, Boeing Global Services, Mark Ballew pointed out, the unit endeavours to build “some synergies and capabilities from the best of both of those worlds.”

The company raised International Government and Defence in 2019 for four specific countries — India, Australia, Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom (UK). Boeing, which has large teams particularly in these four countries, prioritises localisation while keeping at its underlying goal of modernisation.

“We have large teams in India, the UK, Saudi Arabia and Australia, and in those four countries, it is a priority for the Boeing company to be able to work well with the local community and its leadership to provide our products and services here and be able to carry out our missions,” said Ballew. The company also lays emphasis on training (whether it is autonomous, manual or classroom training) and simulation.

“We have a couple of Maintenance, Repair, Overhaul (MRO) locations around the world and one of the things that we are focusing on is what we could do with India. How do we use the local team to be able to set up and make those things happen,” he added. MRO in aviation is the repair, service, or inspection of an aircraft or aircraft component.

Boeing has ceaselessly reiterated its commitment to government programmes such as ‘Make in Indi