Boeing envisages growth in defence services business
The services and support market is a significant growth area for Boeing in India and the company is working with the Indian Air Force and Indian Navy to provide training and support of Boeing platforms such as the P-8I maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft, C-17 Globemaster III airlifter and Boeing Business Jets.
The Indian Air Force’s C-17 aircraft and the Indian Navy’s P-8I aircraft have demonstrated an excellent record in supporting the missions they have been deployed for, and our customers have expressed satisfaction about the operational readiness of both aircraft. Both aircraft were at the forefront of rescue and humanitarian aid efforts in the natural disasters that affected Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir and Odisha states. The C-17 was deployed to evacuate people and deliver relief supplies. The P- 8I has been used extensively in maritime reconnaissance missions by the Indian Navy, including performing aerial reconnaissance and gathering data for planning relief efforts during Cyclone Hudhud.
Dennis Swanson, Vice President, Boeing Defence, Space & Security in India explained that this has been possible due to the enhanced capabilities that Boeing’s advanced military platforms provide and the focus on providing timely and affordable services and support. “In the future, Boeing will continue to ensure that we deliver on commitments to our Indian customers and partner with the Indian armed forces to achieve their modernisation and mission- readiness objectives,” Swanson told Vayu. “We will continue to have discussions with our customers on their requirements and ramp up our support and training capabilities now and in the future.
Vinayak Rajagopal, director of Global Services & Support in India, explained that the high mission readiness of the C-17 fleet can be attributed to the Globemaster III Integrated Sustainment Programme ( GISP) Performance- Based Logistics (PBL) contract. “The GISP “virtual fleet” arrangement ensures mission readiness by providing all C-17 customers access to an extensive support network for worldwide parts availability and economies of scale. The C-17 GISP is a system-level partnership, where the customer pays for readiness, rather than specific parts or services,” said Rajagopal.
Initial qualification training of Indian Air Force C-17 crews was conducted by the US Air Force at Joint Base Charleston in South Carolina. A total of 100 Indian Air Force airmen received instructions from the 373rd Training Squadron Detachment 5 on how to operate India’s C-17 Globemaster IIIs. The training included classroom time as well as simulation training on the aircraft.
Boeing offers fully integrated training systems for C- 17 aircrews ( pilots and loadmasters) and maintenance engine run technicians. Boeing currently provides C- 17 training for the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and the United Kingdom, maintaining weapon system concurrency of all training devices and courseware, and all of the initial and recurring training.
Initial P-8I training for Indian Navy pilots, mission system operators and maintenance technicians that will operate and maintain P-8I aircraft was done at Boeing’s facilities in Seattle. The programme included a combination of flight, classroom and lab training as well as real-world simulation experiences that can reduce total ownership costs. Boeing has trained more than 110 Indian Navy professionals, including five pilot crews, five mission crews and a number of flight signalers and observers.
Boeing anticipates other training opportunities for aircrew and maintenance courseware development for platforms such as the AH-64 Apache and CH-47 Chinook, opportunities which being pursued. Boeing been providing simulation based training solutions to the US Army and several other international customers operating the AH64 Apache and CH-47 Chinook helicopters.