MBDA offering advanced technology transfer to India
MBDA’s stand at Defexpo 2016 will focus on a number of messages covering both the product as well as the industrial advantages that MBDA is offering to India. India’s defence forces need the very best and most advanced equipment to meet the many operational challenges facing the country. MBDA’s extensive product portfolio covering all three operational domains – air, sea and land is available to fulfil this need. Similarly, MBDA is striving to advance the government’s widely publicised Make in India policy. MBDA has the knowhow, the experience of international cooperation and the latest guided missile and guided missile system technology, which it is well prepared and eager to share with India. Make in India can benefit and make major leaps forward in progress by having access to the levels of advanced technology that MBDA has developed over many decades of research and development. Many people in the industry are making such a claim for India but often this technology is far below the necessary level to make a real difference to India’s indigenous capability. MBDA on the other hand is prepared to go the distance and to offer technology at an advanced level. Moreover, it has the full backing of its domestic governments to do so.
Mistral has proven itself a major success story with a 96% success rate in all firings. This highly versatile IR missile, already integrated with HAL’s Rudra (ALH Mk.IV) using the MBDA ATAM launcher, can be deployed from a number of land and ship based launch systems. With a competition currently underway to meet India’s Very Short Range Air Defence (VSHORAD) requirement, MBDA will be displaying the Mistral MANPADS (Man Portable Air Defence) system at Defexpo 2016. Easy to use, quick to set up, deploy, fire and reload, Mistral MANPADS was designed from the outset to be a highly portable tripod mounted system. Easily managed by two operators (one for the tripod and another for the missiles), the system has a distinct advantage over beam-riding systems in that its heat sensitive seeker allows the missile to be fully autonomous, a vital capability for dealing with close-in, manoeuvring threats. The system, which has already been part of several successful field evaluation trials for India, can also be mounted on vehicles.
The Short Range Surface-to-Air Missile ( SRSAM) is an Indian DRDO project that MBDA is proud to be supporting, as it reinforces the partnership model the company is advancing within the country. Much has been written about this project, which stresses MBDA’s commitment to India’s Make in India policy. Offering the highest levels of technology transfer and a major boost to Indian defence industry, SRSAM is an ideal solution for the shortrange air defence needs of India’s Navy. Discussions are well advanced and as soon as a green light is given, this latest technology is ready to be developed by India in collaboration with MBDA.
Loïc Piedevache, MBDA Country Head for India points out, “The Make in India policy is an exciting opportunity for India. It is a policy that will provide India with the level of defence-industrial sovereignty that a country of such importance on the world stage should have. In this respect, MBDA is determined to work with its growing network of in-country partners to this end. However, it should be realised that we have been advancing a strategy of Make in India long before it became a publicly announced policy, a strategy that forms both the past and our future intended activities.”