By Dominick Rodrigues/Arunkumar Rao

Bengaluru : The APACHES had come to town – in Bengaluru. No, they are not the famed warriors of America but rather their namesakes- -the famed “Apache” helicopters of the USA that have earned a name as the best attack choppers in battle globally and were on display at the three-day “Aero India” 2021 Show in the city recently.

Another famous visitor on display here — that has become a resident in India — is the Rafale Aircraft, that were newly-purchased by the Indian Government from France. The Show featured 540 exhibitors including 80 foreign companies and defence ministers, delegates, service chiefs and officials from more than 55 nations.

Boeing announced here the addition of a new production line at its joint venture, the Tata Boeing Aerospace Limited (TBAL) in Hyderabad, Telangana, to manufacture complex vertical fin structures for the 737 family of airplanes. The expansion marks a significant milestone for the joint venture.

Spread over 14,000 square meters, the state-of-the-art facility has been producing aero-structures for Boeing’s AH-64 Apache helicopter, including fuselages, secondary structures, and vertical spar boxes for customers worldwide.

Sukaran Singh, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL), said,”The expansion of our aerostructure manufacturing capabilities with the new production line to deliver complex vertical fins for the 737s is another landmark in our collaboration with Boeing. He further added, “This new production line for complex vertical fin structures is another testament for TASL’s commitment towards making India self-reliant in defence manufacturing.”

Boeing’s advanced aircraft and services focus plays an important role in mission-readiness for the Indian Air Force and Indian Navy. Boeing has strengthened its supply chain with 250 local companies in India and a joint venture to manufacture fuselages for Apache helicopters. Annual sourcing from India stands at $1 billion. Boeing currently employs 3,000 people in India, and more than 7,000 people work with its supply chain partners.

Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave the Aero India Show a ‘flying’ start through a tweet in describing it as a wonderful platform for collaborations in areas, where India offered unlimited potential in defence and aerospace. “The Government of India has brought futuristic reforms in these sectors, which will add impetus to our quest to become Aatmanirbhar,” he said.

Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh declared the Show open by announcing government plans to spend 130 billion dollars on military modernisation over the next seven years. Steps had been taken to strengthen the nation’s security apparatus with domestic manufacturing and complex defence platforms becoming the focus of the Aatmanirbhar Policy, he said, adding that the government had enhanced Foreign Direct Investment in the Defence Sector up to 74 per cent through the automatic route and 100 per cent through the government route.

“To achieve the twin goals of self-reliance and exports, we have set a target to achieve Rs 1,75,000 crore turnover, including export of Rs 35,000 crore in aerospace and defence goods and services by 2024,” the Minister saidwhile pointing out that reforms brought in by the government since 2014 would create a conducive system for exports, foreign direct investment and offset discharge. The Newly introduced (Buy Global-Manufacture in India) category of capital procurement in Defence Acquisition Policy 2020 allows outright purchase of equipment from foreign vendors and indigenous manufacture through an Indian subsidiary, a joint venture or an Indian agency.

Lauding HAL’s orderbook receipt of more than Rs 48,000 crore for 83 new indigenous LCA – Tejas MK1A for Indian Air Force — the biggest “Make in India” defence contract till date – Singh said that with a strong and diversified Micro, Small, Medium Enterprise sector comprising over 5000 active units, India has the potential to become a reliable supplier of defence equipment to many friendly nations.

Emphasizing industrial licensing requirements being eliminated for many items in the defence sector where over 500 companies have now taken defence licences — doubling the number in the last 6 years, the Minister invited business leaders from across the globe to take advantage of the various initiatives of the government of India and set up manufacturing units.

The first Indian Ocean Region’s Defence Ministers’ Conclave with the theme “Enhanced peace, Security and cooperation in the Indian Ocean Region” was held here in virtual mode and also included Ambassadors, High Commissioners and senior officials from IOR countries.

Describing India as the largest nation in the IOR region with a vast coast line of 7500 Kms, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said India has an active role to play for peaceful and prosperous co-existence of all countries. “The Indian Ocean is a shared asset and a lifeline to international trade and transport due to its control of major sea-lanes carrying half of the world’s container ships, one third of the world’s bulk cargo traffic and two thirds of the world’s oil shipments,” he said.

With SAGAR – ‘Security and Growth for All in the Region’ — the theme of Indian Ocean, the IOR conclave should focus on security, commerce, connectivity, fight against terrorism and inter cultural exchanges, the Minister said while identifying areas such as; deepening economic and security cooperation in the littorals, enhancing capacities to safeguard land and maritime territories, working towards sustainable regional development, Blue Economy, including sustainable and regulated fishing, and promoting collective action to deal with non-traditional threats like natural disasters, piracy, terrorism , illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing etc; as inter-related elements of SAGAR. The IOR faces a number of challenges such as piracy, smuggling of drugs/people and arms, humanitarian and disaster relief, and Search & Rescue (SAR) which can be met through maritime co-operation, he said.

Identifying maritime resources as the key to sustained growth and development of IOR nations in the 21st century, Singh said that the negative impact of conflicting claims in some maritime areas of the world highlighted the need to ensure peace in the IOR region — where IOR countries have demonstrated mutual respect for a rules-based order and commitment to abide by international law.

Highlighting the global geopolitical and commercial significance of the Indian ocean, he said 75 per cent of global trade and 50 per cent of daily global transfers already pass through the region. He further said the deployment of ships by the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast guard for maritime security and anti-piracy operations had been successful in minimising threats to commercial shipping.

Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa said Karnataka contributed significantly to the nation’s aerospace and defence sector of India including being the first state to announce an aerospace policy with a proposed investment of about Rs 14,700 crore and employment potential for about 10,600 people. The Karnataka Government, “Laghu Udyog Bharati” and IMS foundation would be organising the MSME, Aerospace and Defence expo in Bengaluru from September 27 to 29 this year to realise the potential of MSMEs, he said while requesting support for it from Ministry of Defence.

France’s participation here witnessed 28 companies including Airbus, Dassault/Rafale International and Thales. Commodore Siddartha Mishra (Retd), CMD, Bharat Dynamics Limited, said BDL and Thales have signed a Teaming Agreement to manufacture the ‘STAR Streak’ Air Defence System in India with the support of both the Governments of India and the United Kingdom. The agreement highlights BDL becoming part of the STARStreak global supply chain while , providing the opportunity for export of the system to existing and future STARStreak Air Defence customers, including the UK Armed Forces.
Later, contract documents to produce Light Combat Aircraft Tejas were handed over by the Ministry of Defence to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). R Madhavan, Chairman and Managing Director, HAL, presented a model of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who said the existing supply chains developed over the years by aerospace and engineering firms and an investor-friendly government with simplified procedures and single window clearance mechanism made Karnataka an ‘attractive’ destination for industry.
HAL received a Request for Proposal (RFP) – for 70 aircraft with additional clause for 38 more — from the Indian Air Force for their Basic Trainers requirement. The documents were handed over to Mr. R. Madhavan, CMD, HAL by Air Marshal Sandeep Singh, DCAS and Mr. V. L. Kantha Rao, DG (Acquisition), Ministry of Defence. The production will take place at HAL’s two manufacturing units at Bengaluru and Nashik.

HAL and MIDHANI signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for development and production of composite raw materials. This is the first time that such an MoU has been signed for composite raw materials. The MoU was signed by R. Madhavan, CMD (HAL) and Dr S K Jha, CMD (MIDHANI). HAL is not only taking care of frontline aircraft production but also raw materials. The usage of composites in the Aerospace is going to exist and increase, particularly for fighter Aircrafts/Helicopter because of its inherent advantages over metallic raw materials. In addition, similar requirement exists for other Aerospace and Defense programs including those of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), Defence Research Development Organization (DRDO), and National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL).
Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd signed a contract with GE Aviation for development and supply of ring forgings for GE Aviation military and commercial engine programs. The five-year contract valued over Rs 100 crores (USD 15 million), involves supplying both steel and nickel alloy forgings for shrouds, cases, rings and seals. Chandrashekhar Yavarna, Senior Director, Global Sourcing Strategy, GE Aviation handed over the contract document to M S Venkatesh, Executive Director, Foundry Forge Division.
With this contract award, GE Aviation has initiated the development of a raw material supply chain in India as part of its “Make in India” and “AatmaNirbhar Bharat” strategy. The award of contract followed HAL’s successful bidding in GE’s Global request for quotes (RFQ).

The ring forgings will be manufactured at HAL’s newly established, state-of-the-art ring rolling facility at the Company’s Foundry and Forge Division in Bengaluru. The division has, after a rigorous audit process, obtained GE Aviation approvals for its quality system and special processes.

“We are pleased to enter this agreement with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for these critical forgings. HAL’s investment in developing this capability and their new facility positions them as a world-class supplier, and we look forward to continuing strong partnership and joint success with HAL,” said Vince Kinman, Executive Forging Sourcing for GE Aviation.