Lockheed Martin to Host Annual India Suppliers Conference in November

Lockheed Martin on 3 November announced that it will host the eighth edition of its annual India Suppliers Conference on November 10–11, 2021.

Themed “Partnership for Aatmanirbhar Bharat and Make for the World”, the two-day conference will be inaugurated by Minister for Large & Medium Scale Industries, Government of Karnataka, Murugesh R Nirani. The event will be held in a hybrid format with an on-ground event in Bengaluru as well as an option for virtual attendance via Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers’ CII Hive platform. Key representatives from the Indian Ministry of Defence, the U.S. government, Indian and global industry leaders will attend the event.

The Suppliers Conference serves as a platform for Lockheed Martin to explore business opportunities with its existing suppliers and create avenues for new partnerships. The discussions at the event help drive the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initiative of the Indian government and expand India-U.S. defence industrial strategic links.

Commenting on the conference, Vice president and chief executive, Lockheed Martin India, William L. Blair said, “To advance India’s strategic security and industrial capabilities, Lockheed Martin continues to support the growth of an indigenous defence manufacturing ecosystem. Our joint ventures in India with Tata have been a key demonstration of the Indian government’s vision of ‘Make in India, Make for the World’ which have been a catalyst for India’s aerospace and defence ecosystem with hundreds of suppliers feeding in to Lockheed Martin’s global supply chain.”

“Hosting the annual India Suppliers Conference complements our vision of building and nurturing partnerships with the Indian industry,” Blair said. “The event now in its eighth year aims to reduce complexity and increase flexibility in supply chain operations to strengthen India’s resilience to future supply chain impacts and aligned to Indian government’s vision to promote exports.”

The key highlights of the conference will include:

• Presentations by Lockheed Martin business area representatives, partners, and Tier 1 suppliers
• Capability presentations by Indian industry / Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)
• In-person and virtual B2B meetings with Supply Chain and Business Development team members of Lockheed Martin
• Indian MSMEs to showcase their companies

The conference will help the Indian industry to understand and interact with all of Lockheed Martin’s business areas, as well as Tier 1 suppliers wishing to source from India. The seventh edition of the event was attended by more than 400 delegates and saw participation from over 200 companies of all sizes — large, MSMEs and start-ups. Furthermore, 62 companies participated in the conference as exhibitors, showcasing their products and capabilities in the virtual exhibition area.

Lockheed Martin continues to build upon more than three decades of partnership with India by nurturing and expanding collaborations with local industry to support the evolution of indigenous defence manufacturing ecosystems, and further advance India’s strategic security and industrial capabilities.