William L. Blair, Vice President and Chief Executive, Lockheed Martin India
Reinforcing its commitment to the Indian government’s initiatives such as ‘Make in India’ and ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’, the US aerospace giant Lockheed Martin reiterated to support the growth of an indigenous defence manufacturing ecosystem in India. “In line with Prime Minister N
arendra Modi’s clarion call for creating an Aatmanirbhar Bharat in defence manufacturing, Lockheed Martin continues to support the growth of an indigenous defence manufacturing ecosystem in India,” said William L. Blair, Vice President and Chief Executive, Lockheed Martin India.
While speaking during the 8th edition of its annual Suppliers Conference held in Bangaluru on 11 November, Blair said “hosting the annual Suppliers Conference is one such initiative from our end to advance the defence, aerospace and start-up ecosystem in India, and strengthen the country’s strategic security and industrial capabilities,”
He further added, “like previous editions, this year too, we saw an encouraging response from our supply chain network, MSMEs, start-ups and the industry at large who contributed to productive conversations on realizing the government’s vision of ‘Make in India, Make for the World’.”
Themed “Partnership for Aatmanirbhar Bharat and Make for the World”, the two-day conference was hosted in association with the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). The event saw 135 companies of all sizes large, MSMEs and start-ups participating in the conference and receiving the opportunity to showcase their company to key stakeholders from the government and industry. More than 250 delegates participated in person while more than 200 delegates participated virtually through the Society of Indian Defense Manufacturers CII Hive platform. The two-day event also saw more than 110 business to business meetings being organized.
During the conference, Lockheed Martin shared new partnership opportunities with the Indian industry in its business areas including Aeronautics, Rotary and Mission Systems (RMS), and Missiles and Fire Control (MFC).
A key announcement from the event is Lockheed Martin’s partnership with Bengaluru-based Rossell Techsys for work on the company’s MH-60R helicopters. Rossell Techsys has been awarded a contract with Lockheed Martin to build Electrical Wire Harness and Interconnect System (EWIS) parts in support of Lockheed Martin’s MH-60R aircraft that are being supplied to the Indian Navy.
As part of the contract received from Lockheed Martin, Rossell Techsys shall perform “Build to Print” (BTP) manufacture of the wire harnesses that will be installed on the MH-60R. Manufacture of these parts is being performed in the “Center of Excellence” (COE), set up by Rossell Techsys for Lockheed Martin platforms. The manufacture of parts has commenced, with the first parts having successfully undergone acceptance by Lockheed Martin. The contract shall also enable Lockheed Martin to obtain offset credits towards this platform sale.
Lockheed Martin also highlighted that the company is working with the US government to secure licenses to allow parts for the Legion-ES infrared search and track sensor system and Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod to be manufactured in India and has plans to start sending out requests for quotations before the end of the year.
The event reiterated Lockheed Martin’s resolve to develop the capabilities of suppliers and to give them access to the global supply chain to manufacture in India, from India, for India and the world.
Team BharatShakti
