Boeing eyes defence modernisation with localization
Palak Gupta
Banking on company’s growing footprints, an important part of Boeing’s India strategy is to equip the country’s armed forces with most advanced platforms, ensuring optimum mission readiness and to harness local talent, innovation and engineering, said Boeing India’s president Salil Gupte.
His remarks came during a media briefing at DefExpo in Lucknow. Boeing highlighted advanced defence capabilities for the armed forces, partnerships to develop India’s aerospace ecosystem and reiterated its commitment to invest in India to maximise the company’s footprint.
“An important part of our India strategy is ensuring our defence customers have the most advanced platforms and capabilities, supported by a services model that optimises mission readiness, high performance and safety,” said Salil Gupte, president, Boeing India. “Another element of our strategy is to harness talent, innovation, engineering and productivity advantages that India offers to build a globally competitive aerospace and defence ecosystem that creates jobs and industrial capacity with Make in India.”
Boeing will also provide its defence customers end-to-end digital solutions for the entire sustainment process and accelerate efforts to grow local manufacturing, engineering, services footprint in India. Future defence opportunities include F/A-18 Block III Super Hornet, KC-46A tanker, P-8I and AH-64E Apache
At DefExpo, Boeing highlighted future investments to accelerate its Make in India efforts and the capabilities being proposed for the Indian armed forces, specifically the next generation F/A-18 Block III Super Hornet fighter that brings transformative capability and contemporary warfighter technologies to India. The F/A-18, on offer to the Indian Navy, is fully compatible with Indian Navy carriers and will boost the growing maritime and defence relationship between the United States and Indian navies.
In line with DefExpo 2020’s theme of digital transformation in defence, Boeing also affirmed its commitment to provide its defence customers with data-based information for empowered decision support and optimization of operations and missions.
Boeing outlined five pillars that will drive its growth in India:
Support the modernization effort of the Indian armed forces with cutting-edge platforms such as F/A-18 Super Hornet, KC-46 tanker, P-8I, AH-64E Apache and CH-47(I) Chinook.
Increase existing sustainment and training capabilities to deliver high level of mission availability for platforms such as the AH-64E Apache, CH-47(I) Chinook, C-17 and P-8I, and future opportunities such as ‘By India-For India Sustainment Program’ for the F/A-18 Super Hornet.
Accelerate efforts through Boeing Defence India to localise services capabilities to ensure last-mile reach and maximum readiness for customers.
Leverage existing Boeing capabilities in data analytics and digital solutions to provide predictive maintenance to defence customers
Increase the manufacturing and engineering footprint in India, and a commitment to future investments in support of ‘Make in India’.
Managing director, Boeing Defence India, Surendra Ahuja said that with the recent induction of the CH-47F(I) Chinook heavy-lift and AH-64E Apache attack helicopters by the Indian Air Force, the focus is on establishing local rotorcraft training and support facilities
“We are committed to working with our customers to provide holistic solutions for their defence aircraft and services with the right capability, advanced technologies and cost structure. We have accelerated our efforts to set up a local sustainment support footprint in India to be more responsive to our customers’ needs,” said Ahuja. “Boeing’s existing platforms in India, the P-8I and C-17 are operated by the Indian Navy and Indian Air Force and are experiencing high mission readiness rates as a result of Boeing’s commitment to services and support.”