DTN News: Sikorsky Plans To Make Black Hawk Helicopter In India
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Source: DTN News / By Santanu Choudhury Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
(NSI News Source Info) NEW DELHI, India - February 18, 2010: Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. Wednesday said it plans to make the Black Hawk helicopter in India, as the
U.S. helicopter maker gears up to bid for defense contracts worth up to $12 billion in the next seven to eight years.
Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., a unit of United Technologies Corp. (UTX), is in talks with Indian companies, including the Tata group, to manufacture the Black Hawk, Stephen B. Estill, vice president in charge of strategic partnerships, said on the sidelines of DefExpo 2010.
"We will bring the Black Hawk here with the option to improve the horse power...," Estill said, adding that the additional power is being planned to operate the helicopter at 14,000-15,000 feet.
"We will bring the concept here, we will team for the development program with local industry, team to develop the prototype here and present that as our tailor-made for India," he said.
Estill said the Black Hawk is currently produced in countries including South Korea, Turkey, Japan and Taiwan.
Sikorsky has a joint venture with Tata Advanced Systems, a Tata group company, to produce cabins for the S-92 helicopter and aerospace parts at Hyderabad city, in southern India.
Production of the S-92 cabin has started and the first unit is expected to be exported from the facility in November, Estill said. The Hyderabad factory currently has capacity to produce 36 cabins each year.
Sikorsky, Eurocopter and various global defense companies are exploring alliances with Indian companies as they try to meet the country's regulations for defense contracts.
The Indian government's offset policy requires the winning bidder in a military tender valued at more than INR3 billion to produce part of the contract's value through partnerships with local vendors. The policy has been formulated to help build the country's fledging military industrial sector.
"We are committed to approach the Indian market from the same view point as we approach the U.S. government market," Estill said. "We think it's that important.
"What that means is we stack our resources. We localize manufacturing, we localize research and development, we localize support and we work to develop exports for the products that we design here," he said.
Estill said Sikorsky expects to bid for potential defense deals in India valued at $8 billion and $12 billion by 2017-2018.
He said the company has offered its S-70B Seahawk and the MH-60R helicopters for an Indian Navy contract for 16 multi-role helicopters with anti-submarine warfare capability. The deal is estimated to range between $600 million and $700 million, he said.
Sikorsky has also bid for a deal from the Indian Coast Guard to lease up to 20 helicopters for up to four years, he said.
FOR FURTHER INFO CONTACT : Santanu Choudhury, Dow Jones Newswires; +91-11-4356-3305; santanu.choudhury@dowjones.com
Source: DTN News / By Santanu Choudhury Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
(NSI News Source Info) NEW DELHI, India - February 18, 2010: Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. Wednesday said it plans to make the Black Hawk helicopter in India, as the 
U.S. helicopter maker gears up to bid for defense contracts worth up to $12 billion in the next seven to eight years.
Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., a unit of United Technologies Corp. (UTX), is in talks with Indian companies, including the Tata group, to manufacture the Black Hawk, Stephen B. Estill, vice president in charge of strategic partnerships, said on the sidelines of DefExpo 2010.
"We will bring the Black Hawk here with the option to improve the horse power...," Estill said, adding that the additional power is being planned to operate the helicopter at 14,000-15,000 feet.
"We will bring the concept here, we will team for the development program with local industry, team to develop the prototype here and present that as our tailor-made for India," he said.
Estill said the Black Hawk is currently produced in countries including South Korea, Turkey, Japan and Taiwan.
Sikorsky has a joint venture with Tata Advanced Systems, a Tata group company, to produce cabins for the S-92 helicopter and aerospace parts at Hyderabad city, in southern India.
Production of the S-92 cabin has started and the first unit is expected to be exported from the facility in November, Estill said. The Hyderabad factory currently has capacity to produce 36 cabins each year.
Sikorsky, Eurocopter and various global defense companies are exploring alliances with Indian companies as they try to meet the country's regulations for defense contracts.
The Indian government's offset policy requires the winning bidder in a military tender valued at more than INR3 billion to produce part of the contract's value through partnerships with local vendors. The policy has been formulated to help build the country's fledging military industrial sector.
"We are committed to approach the Indian market from the same view point as we approach the U.S. government market," Estill said. "We think it's that important.
"What that means is we stack our resources. We localize manufacturing, we localize research and development, we localize support and we work to develop exports for the products that we design here," he said.
Estill said Sikorsky expects to bid for potential defense deals in India valued at $8 billion and $12 billion by 2017-2018.
He said the company has offered its S-70B Seahawk and the MH-60R helicopters for an Indian Navy contract for 16 multi-role helicopters with anti-submarine warfare capability. The deal is estimated to range between $600 million and $700 million, he said.
Sikorsky has also bid for a deal from the Indian Coast Guard to lease up to 20 helicopters for up to four years, he said.
FOR FURTHER INFO CONTACT : Santanu Choudhury, Dow Jones Newswires; +91-11-4356-3305; santanu.choudhury@dowjones.com
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