Lockheed Martin hosts its 8th Annual Suppliers Conference
Reinforcing its commitment to Indian government’s initiatives such as ‘Make in India’ and ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’, Lockheed Martin announced the culmination of the 8th edition of its annual Suppliers Conference on 11 November 2021.
Themed “Partnership for Aatmanirbhar Bharat and Make for the World”, the two- day conference was hosted in association with 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 Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers CII Hive platform. The twoday event also saw more than 110 business to business meetings organised.
Mr. Murugesh R Nirani, Minister for Large & Medium Scale Industries, Government of Karnataka was the chief guest at the inaugural session of the conference on 10 November 2021 wherein he reiterated the role played by Karnataka in creating an aerospace and defence ecosystem in India. The session was also addressed by representatives from Lockheed Martin, Ministry of Defence, Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers and Confederation of Indian Industry.
Lockheed Martin RMS Global Supply Chain organisation and the Aegis Programme Office recognised SASMOS HET Technologies Limited for its outstanding support, dedication and commitment to the success of the Aegis Low Noise Amplifier (LNA) programme in the presence of Mr. Murugesh R Nirani.
“In line with Prime Minister Narendra 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,” stated William L. Blair, Vice President and Chief Executive, Lockheed Martin India.
“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,” Blair said. “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 realising the government’s vision of Make in India, Make for the World.”
During the conference, Lockheed Martin shared new partnership opportunities with the Indian industry on its business areas including Aeronautics, Rotary and Mission Systems (RMS), and Missiles and Fire Control (MFC).
A key announcement from the event was 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 helicopter 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 “Centre 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 was 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.
November was a landmark month for the Indian Navy with commissioning of ‘Visakhapatnam’, the first stealth guided missile destroyer ship of the Project 15B in the presence of Raksha Mantri Mr. Rajnath Singh on 21 November 2021. Commissioning of Vela, the fourth submarine of Project-75 took place on 25 November 2021 and the Chief Guest for the event was Chief of Naval Staff. This was followed by the launch of first ship of Survey Vessel Large project, Sandhayak in early December 2021.
Visakhapatnam has been constructed using indigenous steel DMR 249A and is amongst the largest destroyers constructed in India with an overall length of 163m and displacement of over 7400 tonnes. The ship has a significant indigenous content of approximately 75% contributing towards AtmaNirbhar Bharat. The ship is a potent platform capable of undertaking multifarious task and missions spanning the full spectrum of maritime warfare. Visakhapatnam is equipped with array of weapons and sensors, which includes supersonic surface-to-surface and surfaceto-air missiles, medium and short-range guns, anti-submarine rockets and advanced electronic warfare and communication suite. The ship is propelled by a powerful combined gas and gas propulsion which enables her speed of over 30 knots. The ship has the capability of embarking two integrated helicopters to further extend her reach. The ship boasts of a very high level of automation with sophisticated digital networks, Combat Management System and Integrated Platform Management System.
Six submarines are being constructed under the Project- 75 and with the commissioning of
Vela, the project will have crossed the half way mark.
These submarines are being constructed at MDL and construction is based on the French Scorpene class design (Naval Group, the
French collaborator for this project). The submarine has been slotted to join the submarine fleet of the Western Naval Command. The indigenous construction of submarines is indicative of the maturity of the Indian construction capability as well as the realisation of ‘Atma-Nirbharta’. Vela is the fourth submarine and has completed most of its trials and is combat worthy and ready to take on operational tasking.
‘Sandhyak’ is the first of the four Survey Vessels (Large) (SVL) Project being built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata for Indian Navy. The contract for building four SVL ships was signed between MoD and GRSE on 30 October 2018. These large Survey ships envisaged to replace the existing Sandhayak Class survey ships are equipped with new generation hydrographic equipment including AUVs, ROVs, 11m survey boats and advanced indigenous data acquisition systems to collect and analyse for collecting oceanographic and geophysical data in the Indian Ocean Region.
The curtain raiser for the commissioning ceremony and the launch was held on 16
November 2021 by VAdm SN Ghormade, the Vice Chief of Naval Staff (VCNS) with Chief of Materiel, Controller of Warship Production & Acquisition, Director General of Naval Design, Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Submarines), Assistant Chief of Naval Staff ( Policy & Plans), Director ( Submarines & Heavy Engineering), MDL and Director ( Shipbuilding), GRSE in attendance. Speaking on the occasion, the VCNS stated that the event highlighted the capability and capacity of, not just the Indian Navy but also of MDL, Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and MSMEs in realising the National Objectives of “Make in India” and “AtmaNirbhar Bharat”.
On the occasion, VCNS also brought out that presently, 39 naval ships and submarines were being constructed at various shipyards. This in turn had created enormous opportunities for not only the indigenous shipbuilding industry but also the associated support industries.
VCNS also brought out that the commissioning ceremony also coincided with the ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ and ‘Swarnim Vijay Varsh’ celebrations, and the induction of INS Visakhapatnam and INS Vela, was thus not only another step towards strengthening our defence preparedness but also “our humble tribute to the sacrifices made by our freedom fighters for the independence of the nation and our brave soldiers during the 1971 War”.