​​​​​​​BEL signs MOU with Sigtech Wireless Technologies

Navratna Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Sigtech Wireless Technologies Pvt Ltd for the manufacture of Digital Mobile Radio (Tier II) for Paramilitary and Defence. The design and development of Digital Mobile Radio, as per ETSI standards, has been carried out by Sigtech Wireless Technologies Pvt Ltd in India.

Bharat Electronics and Tech Mahindra 

 Defence PSU (Public Sector Undertaking) Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Tech Mahindra, a leading provider of digital transformation, IT and business re-engineering services and solutions, announced today a collaboration to design and build cutting edge Digital Solutions for Aerospace and Defense. They have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at DefExpo India 2020, Lucknow, to jointly develop solutions in the field of Defence products and systems for the Armed Forces leveraging next generation technologies like Aerospace and Defence (A&D) Engineering Services, 5G and Cyber Security.

Anandi Ramalingam, Director Marketing, Bharat Electronics Limited, said, “The MoU will enable BEL and Tech Mahindra to make joint efforts to seize the opportunities available in the domestic markets on back of the policy initiatives of the Indian Government such as Make-in-India. It will further support in tapping into global markets for export of defence products produced by the individual companies or jointly developed and produced by the two companies, leveraging on the Export Promotion Policy of the Ministry of Defence, Government of India.”

Sujit Baksi, Head APAC Business and President Corporate Affairs, Tech Mahindra, said, “Tech Mahindra’s collaboration with Bharat Electronics extends our vision of supporting government’s ‘make in India’ initiative to enhance our indigenous capabilities and build a robust 5 Trillion Dollar Indian economy. It is also in line with our TechMNxt charter that focuses on leveraging new generation technologies to deliver an enhanced experience to our customers. With Tech Mahindra’s global footprint, this collaboration will not only provide cutting edge design solutions to the Indian Armed forces, but also help in tapping export opportunities.”

Mrs Anandi Ramalingam, Director (Marketing), BEL, and Mr Sujit, Baksi, Head APAC Business and President Corporate Affairs, Tech Mahindra, signed the MoU documents in the presence of Mr Gowtama M V, CMD, BEL. 

DGQA’s role in MoD schemes for incentivizing defence manufacturing

DGQA had conducted a seminar on the Role in MoD Schemes for Incentivizing Defence Manufacturing on 07 Feb 2020 at DefExpo 2020 to discuss various Schemes of Defence Ministry to facilitate the domestic defence industry. The seminar had highlighted and showcased the following new Schemes launched / being launched by the Department of Defence Production.

Mission Raksha Gyan Shakti: This Scheme aims at inculcating IP culture in Indian defence manufacturing ecosystem. An Intellectual Property Facilitation Cell (IPFC) has been constituted which has trained more than 15,000 people on IPR and enabled filing of more than 1000 new IPR applications.

Defence Testing Infrastructure Scheme (DTIS): This Scheme will facilitate in setting up 6 to 8 state-of-the-art test facilities by providing a Grant-in-Aid of Rs 400 Cr. This will provide a major impetus for domestic defence industries as defence testing and certification infrastructure is not available which is necessary requirement for manufacture and production.

Proof Ranges: DGQA has made available proof ranges and laboratories to the private industry for carrying out dynamic proof trials and development activities at nominal costs.

Self-Certification & Green Channel:   Accord of Green Channel Status and self-certification to qualifying Indian firms is expected to cut down inspection timelines and costs in the foreseeable future. These schemes are meant to target mature products where domestic defence industry has gained reasonable expertise in the technology deployed.

Defence Export Promotion Scheme (DEPC): The DEPC has been launched with an objective to provide an opportunity for indigenous manufacturers to market their products globally and to enhance annual defence exports to Rs 35,000 crores by 2025.

Third Party Inspection Scheme: Under this Scheme manufacturers have the option to undertake inspection through Third Party agencies for non-critical defence stores manufactured by the private industry within India.

DGQA in partnership with BDL and C-DAC is showcasing the Evolutionary and Innovative Implementation of Industry 4.0 by use of IoT, Blockchain, Big Data and Artificial Intelligence for Production and Quality Assurance of KONKURS-M Missile Launcher at DefExpo 2020. The Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi was shown a VR clip of the project and given a brief on the Unique Enterprise Solution during his visit to the India Pavilion on 05 Feb 2020.

HAL Signs Pacts with Rosoboronexport, Coast Guard, IIT Kanpur and TAPL

HAL and TAPL: HAL signed a ‘Lease Agreement’ with Turbo Aviation Private Ltd. for operating two Do-228 aircraft under the UDAN scheme. TAPL would operate two Do-228 aircraft manufactured by HAL.

The agreement was signed by Mr Apurba Roy, General Manager of HAL’s TAD Kanpur and Mr V Umesh, MD, TAPL.

As per the agreement TAPL would acquire two aircraft from HAL and would be operating from the state capital Lucknow. The first aircraft will connect Lucknow from Shravasti, Aligarh, Azamgarh, Jhansi and Saharanpur. The second aircraft will operate from Lucknow to Hindon, Faizabad, Mirpur, Chitrakoot and Kushinagar.  

HAL and Indian Coast Guard: HAL signed a contract with Indian Coast Guard (ICG) for midlife upgradation program on 17 CG Do-228 aircraft manufactured by HAL Kanpur.

The contract was signed between Mr Apurba Roy, General Manager of HAL’s TAD Kanpur and Mr Sanjai Singh, Joint Secretary (Air) & AM, MoD.

The contract aims to address the obsolescence and supportability issues and enhance the operational capability of ICG Do-228 fleet.

HAL and IIT Kanpur: HAL signed an MoU with IIT Kanpur for providing Do-228 or HS 748 aircraft towards extending logistic support to the Institution’s projects in the field of ‘Cloud Seeding’.

The MoU was signed between Mr Apurba Roy, General Manager of HAL’s TAD Kanpur and Dr Manindra Agrawal, Deputy Director, IIT Kanpur.

HAL and JSC Rosoboronexport: HAL and JSC Rosoboronexport signed an MoU yesterday. The MoU envisages export of spares and services to friendly countries for which license has been given to HAL. The parties will subsequently sign an agreement on mutually agreed terms and conditions. The scope will include Su-30 MKI, AL 31 FP engine, RD33 engines, accessories etc.

BEL signs tripartite MoU with Elbit and GRSE for Unmanned Surface Vessels

Navratna Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) signed a tripartite MoU with Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd (GRSE) and Elbit Systems, Israel, on February 6, 2020, at DefExpo 2020.

Mrs Anandi Ramalingam, Director (Marketing), BEL, Cmde S Nayyar (IN Retd), Director (Ship Building), GRSE, and Mr Yaron Levi, Vice President (Naval Systems), Elbit Systems, signed the tripartite MoU on behalf of BEL, GRSE and Elbit. The MoU aims at leveraging the individual strengths of BEL, Elbit and GRSE for the development and customisation of Elbit’s Unmanned Surface Vessels (USV) for the requirements of the Indian Navy. 

BEL signs MOU with BHEL

Navratna Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) has signed an MoU with Maharatna PSU Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited (BHEL) for co-operation in the field of Defence and Non-defence products / systems to jointly capitalise on the emerging opportunities in the domestic and international market, as well as leverage the policy initiatives of Government such as Make in India.

The MoU aims at leveraging the complementary strengths and capabilities of BEL and BHEL to develop and market products and systems for Defence and Non-Defence. The MoU will also enable BEL and BHEL to make joint efforts to explore markets for products developed individually or jointly.

Mrs Anandi Ramalingam, Director (Marketing), BEL, and Mr S Balakrishnan, Director (IS&P), BHEL, signed the MoU on behalf of BEL and BHEL.

OFB signs MoU with BEL

Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) and Navratna Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) have signed an MoU to continue their existing co-operation in the field of Air Defence & Artillery Gun Systems, Armoured Fighting Vehicles, Arms & Ammunition and related Products, Systems and Accessories, leveraging complementary strengths, to meet the requirements of Indian Defence forces among others.

Thales and MKU to co-develop the ELFIE Night Vision Device 

Taking the association a step ahead, Thales and MKU today announced the co-development of the ELFIE Night Vision Device (NVD) for the armed forces in India and across the world on the sidelines of DefExpo 2020. With this, both companies have further solidified the MoU signed in 2018 for strategic co-operation on developing optronic devices. This co-operation involves co-development of these devices at MKU’s facility in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh.

 A lightweight monocular with the widest field of view, ELFIE provides unprecedented mobility and night combat capability. Whether hands-free (on a face mask or helmet mount) or weapon-mounted, ELFIE is suitable for left or right eye use and provides stereoscopic vision in binocular configuration. ELFIE is ideal for vehicle-driving and for paratroopers and special forces operators. When mounted on a weapon, it provides a red dot sight or laser pointer to the user.

The integration of the first pre-series of ELFIE at MKU’s facility in Kanpur is expected to be completed in the first trimester of 2020. A true model of the “Made in India” ELFIE night vision device is expected to be available in the first trimester of 2021.  

 “We are enthusiastic about taking our strategic association forward with MKU with the co-development of ELFIE. This embodies the Government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative. Coming up in the Defence Industrial Corridor of Uttar Pradesh, this versatile night vision device will be offered to the armed forces in India as well as across the world. Together with MKU, we look forward to strengthening the industrial ecosystem while also contributing towards job creation in the country,” said Pascale Sourisse, Senior Executive Vice President – International Development, Thales.

Neeraj Gupta, Managing Director, MKU Limited, said, “We are delighted about this partnership with a global technology leader like Thales. This association will combine Thales’ expertise with the manufacturing abilities of MKU and boost local manufacturing for the defence industry. We will develop the entire supply chain and the devices will be manufactured to exacting international standards.’

Paramount Group and Bharat Forge Announces Strategic Collaboration

Paramount Group, the global aerospace and technology company and Bharat Forge (BFL), a leading Indian industrial group have announced the signing of a strategic, high level collaboration agreement to set up a joint venture to join the technologies, capabilities and expertise of both groups in the industrialisation and indigenisation of defence and aerospace systems, in response to emerging opportunities in the Indian market, such as ‘Make in India’ and globally.

The companies have also signed two Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) during DefExpo 2020 held in Lucknow, covering immediate opportunities in the aerospace and special protected vehicle sectors.

The MoUs will enable Paramount Group and Bharat Forge to engage in joint efforts to seize the global opportunities for the design, development, industrialisation and indigenization of defence and aerospace products, services and systems.

Rajinder Bhatia, President & CEO, Defence and Aerospace, BFL, commented, “Paramount Group and Bharat Forge share a lot of complimentary capabilities and products, with this cooperation both groups are well positioned to cater to the varied requirement to address the defence situation in conventional and assymetric warfare.”

Ivor Ichikowitz, Group Chairman of Paramount Group, said: ”Building defence industrial eco-systems through strategic alliances have been the cornerstone of Paramount’s portable manufacturing model and we are excited to develop our defence and aerospace systems technologies and solutions through strong and long-term partnerships. We are pleased to partner with Bharat Forge, a company that shares our philosophy of enabling local manufacturing through technology and skills transfer, the indigenisation of defence and aerospace technologies, and the creation of high value jobs that bolster economic growth. There are excellent synergies between our respective organisations laying the foundation for innovation, technology development and the indigenisation of defence capabilities.”

The two organizations have jointly displayed Kalyani M4, a 4X4 multi-role armoured protected fighting vehicle and Kalyani Maverick ATC, an armoured troup carrier at BFL’s stall in Hall no 7 at DefExpo 2020. These vehicles have advanced mobility capabilities to go with their unmatched side blast protection of up to 50kgs of TNT explosives.

LM and BEL to explore opportunities in F-21 fighter programme

Lockheed Martin signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Navratna Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) to explore industrial opportunities in the F-21 programme today at DefExpo 2020. Lockheed Martin is strengthening and growing its partnerships with the Indian industry to support the company’s F-21 proposal for the Indian Air Force.

“We are excited to begin exploring F-21 opportunities with BEL, one of India’s leading aerospace and defence companies,” said Dr Vivek Lall, Vice President of Stragety and Business Development, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics. “An F-21 partnership with India integrates Indian industry, including BEL, into the world’s largest and most successful fighter aircraft ecosystem and demonstrates Lockheed Martin’s commitment to India.”

Mrs Anandi Ramalingam, Director (Marketing), BEL, said: “We are happy to collaborate with Lockheed Martin which is a global major in the aerospace sector. We are eagerly looking forward to cash in on this co-operation to address domestic and international market needs in this sector.” 

 Javelin JV signs co-production MoU with BDL

The Javelin™ Joint Venture, a partnership of Raytheon Company and Lockheed Martin, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) to explore co-production of the Javelin anti-tank missile system to fulfill potential future requirements of the Indian Ministry of Defence.

 “We look forward to working with BDL, a leading guided weapon system manufacturer, to evaluate the possibility of manufacturing Javelin in India,” said David Pantano, Javelin Joint Venture vice president. “With BDL’s 50 years of experience, combined with Javelin’s reliability and proven performance, we are excited to see how this partnership will support the needs of the Indian Ministry of Defence.”

Commodore Siddharth Mishra (Retd.), CMD, Bharat Dynamics Limited stated that BDL’s thrust in the coming years will be to continue to invest in infrastructure, automate its production lines, adopt continual process improvement and exports.

Javelin is a versatile one-man-portable and platform-employed anti-tank and multi-target precision weapon system. Using state-of the-art “fire-and-forget” technology capable of defeating targets up to 4 kilometers in most operational conditions

L&T and ideaForge Ink MoU for Unmanned Systems

Larsen and Toubro (L&T), India’s multinational engineering conglomerate and the largest private sector defence company, and ideaForge, India’s largest manufacturer of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have entered an MoU to offer drones and allied systems for defence use.

Both the companies will combine their strengths to offer hi-tech, integrated drone solutions to enhance security and surveillance. They will also offer anti-drone solutions to counter the threat of malicious or unintended usage of drones.

The MoU involves collaboration on technology, products, deployment and go-to-market strategies. It will unlock the full potential of unmanned systems in security, surveillance and protection solutions. With the ever-increasing adoption of drone technology, the L&T-ideaForge partnership will redefine the landscape of unmanned systems.

Commenting on this, Mr. J D Patil, Whole Time Director & Senior Executive Vice President (Defence & Smart Technologies), L&T, said, “We are teaming as partners of choice to provide indigenously developed unmanned systems for the Indian and global markets. We are confident, this alliance will create a successful Make in India collaboration between a diversified engineering conglomerate and a young, technology-driven company for across the range offerings.”

Mr. Ankit Mehta, CEO, ideaForge said, “We are excited to partner with L&T as it will bring their vast experience in design and development of Defence systems to our product offerings as well as a global orientation to address market demands. Our collaboration will create a platform to help develop mission-specific, fully integrated solutions that customers worldwide are looking for.”

DRDO Signs Technology Development Contract with Rosoboronexport

High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL) is the DRDO laboratory working in the development of spectrum of high energy materials required for missiles, rockets and guns.

During DefExpo 2020, HEMRL, Pune signed technology development contract with Rosoboronexport, Russia for development of Advanced Pyrotechnic Ignition Systems.

Director HEMRL Shri. KPS Murthy informed that this will enable advancement in the field of energetic materials and pyrotechnic technology leading to the development of advanced ignition systems. This will meet futuristic requirements of high-performance propulsion systems. He added that the propulsion systems are the power behind the rockets and missiles. This technology development will facilitate design and development of state of art solid rocket motors for upcoming products. These products will be based on compact and energy efficient propulsion systems.