DTN News: Honeywell Unit Says To Double India Revenue

DTN News: Honeywell Unit Says To Double India Revenue

* Plans to more than double $500 million rev from India * Investing $50 million to expand R&D plant in Bangalore * Eyeing revenue from India space programme

*Source: DTN News / Reuters By Bappa Majumdar

(NSI News Source Info) NEW DELHI, India - August 7, 2009: Honeywell International's aerospace unit plans to more than double its $500 million revenue from India in five years by increasing sales of defence and commercial equipment, a top official said on Friday. Honeywell is also upgrading India's Jaguar fighter planes with superior engine, and has a tie-up with state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to produce aircraft engines and equipment for the international market. An Indian Air Force (IAF) 14th Squadron SEPECAT (Breguet/BAC) Jaguar GR-1 "Shamser" (Sword of Justice) ground attack aircraft prepares to receive fuel from a IAF 78th Squadron Ilyushin IL-78 Midas aerial refueling aircraft, flying out of Eielson FB, Alaska (AK), as they participate in an aerial refueling mission during Exercise COOPERATIVE COPE THUNDER, the largest multinational air combat training exercise in the Pacific. This 15-day exercise simulates wartime combat conditions so that military personnel from 12-nations can sharpen their air fighting skills, exchange air operational tactics, and build closer relations with each other. "We have revenue in excess of half a billion dollars, which we plan to more than double in five years," Paolo Carmassi, chief executive officer of Honeywell Aerospace, the world's largest maker of cockpit systems, told Reuters in an interview. Honeywell, a diversified group which makes products such aircraft engines, electronic systems and avionics, has five manufacturing facilities and 10,000 employees in India. As one of the world's biggest arms importers, India plans to spend more than $30 billion over the next five years to upgrade its largely Soviet-era arsenal, which Carmassi said provided the perfect environment to grow its businesses. "Honeywell has had significant investment in India and is committed to realise its vision in the country. For example, in 2009, Honeywell has invested $50 Million to expand its R&D facility in Bangalore," Carmassi said by telephone from Rolle in Switzerland. India will begin field trials this month to buy 126 fighter jets in a $10.4 billion project which is one of the world's biggest arms deal in play at the moment. Boeing's F/A-18 Super Hornet, France's Dassault Rafale, Lockheed Martin Corp's F-16, Russia's MiG-35, Sweden's Saab JAS-39 Gripen and the Eurofighter Typhoon, are the six contenders. When India finalises the fighter deal in a year's time, it would be a win-win situation for Honeywell, Carmassi said, adding that five of the six contenders for the fighters have Honeywell products. Honeywell components are also present in six C-130J military transport planes and eight P8-I maritime patrol aircraft, bought by India for $3.2 billion from Lockheed Martin and Boeing recently, Carmassi said. Honeywell is also upgrading India's Jaguar fighter planes with superior engine, and has a tie-up with state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to produce aircraft engines and equipment for the international market. The company is also eyeing revenues from India's space programme which envisions the launch of several satellites in the coming years and unmanned and manned missions to space and moon. (Editing by Krittivas Mukherjee and Valerie Lee)

India: After The Hawk, A Supersonic Trainer LCA

India: After The Hawk, A Supersonic Trainer LCA (NSI News Source Info) February 16, 2009: It took immense public pressure and the death of tens of Indian Air Force (IAF) pilots for the government to okay the purchase of 66 Hawk Advanced Jet Trainers (AJTs) for training rookie pilots on fast jets before sending them off to the MiG Operational Flying Training School (MOFTU) in Tezpur. There they are put into the cockpit of one of the world’s fastest and most unforgiving fighters — the MiG-21. It is no coincidence that accidents are dramatically down since training began on the Hawk. Now the IAF is purchasing another trainer that could equip its pilots even better for flying the high performance fighters — the upgraded Jaguars, MiG-21s, 27s and 29s, the Mirage 2000s, the brutally powerful Su-30MKI and the MMRCA, when that is inducted — which will comprise the new IAF. Top MoD sources have told Business Standard that the IAF will soon order from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) twelve of the newly developed two-seater trainer version of the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA). DRDO chief M Natarajan confirms that the Tejas trainer is set to make its first flight within two months.The first squadron of the indigenously developed Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) named Tejas will be deployed down south in Tamil Nadu, when the first batch of the 20 fighter aircrafts are expected to be inducted by the Indian Air Force (IAF) in 2009-2010. This will give IAF pilots an additional stage of training. Currently, Stage I is carried out on a basic trainer, the HPT-32; Stage II on slightly faster and more complex aircraft like the Kiran; and Stage III on the jet-engined, but sub-sonic Hawk AJT. The induction of an LCA trainer will allow IAF pilots to fly a supersonic, light fighter before graduating to the combat squadrons. Most advanced western air forces do not conduct four stages of training; instead, they rely extensively on aircraft simulators. But the IAF, like some other air forces, has tended to prefer live flying. To benefit from such a demand, South Korea has built and is marketing a supersonic trainer called the T-50 Golden Eagle. Natarjan declared at Aero India 2009 that the Tejas trainer would compete effectively with the Golden Eagle. Ashok Nayak, Managing Director of HAL’s Bangalore Complex and the company’s next chief, explains that the Tejas assembly line will be busy until 2014, producing the IAF’s first order of 20 Tejas aircraft, which will include 16 single-seater fighters and 4 twin-seater trainers. Then, while the Tejas is reengineered and flight-tested with a new, more powerful engine, the assembly line will produce 12 more trainers. For HAL, the new order is a relief, as it will keep the Tejas assembly line rolling. Nayak points out: “It is not in the interest of the Air Force, or of HAL, to have a break in production.” Business Standard travelled to HAL for an exclusive look at the new Tejas trainer. From the outside, there is little to distinguish it from the single-seater fighter that performed aerobatics at the just-concluded Aero India 2009 show. A closer look, however, reveals an expanded cockpit, in which two pilots — an instructor and a trainee — sit one behind the other, both equipped with all the controls needed to fly the aircraft. The design team for the twin-seater Tejas trainer was led by two women engineers — Poongothai, and Mamatha K — of HAL’s Aircraft Research and Development Centre. They pointed out that the additional pilot’s seat and controls have all been squeezed into the existing airframe, obviating the need for time-consuming redesign of the single-seater Tejas’ airframe.

Asia's Biggest Air Show Aero India 2009 Takes Off

Asia's Biggest Air Show Aero India 2009 Takes Off

(NSI News Source Info) Bangalore - February 11, 2009: Aero India 2009 took off to a roaring start Wednesday with India flaunting its air power in a stunning aerobatics display by fighter jets, helicopters and jet trainers. Billed as the biggest biennial event in South Asia, the five-day seventh edition of Aero India 2009 began on a sunny and breezy day from the Indian Air Force (IAF) station at Yelahanka, about 20 km from Bangalore. With a security blanket in place to ward off terror attacks, about 5,000 people, including diplomats and air chiefs from the world over, were treated to a two-hour spectacular show by scores of IAF pilots. The inaugural by Defence Minister AK Antony in the presence of Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa was marked by a flypast and breathtaking manouveres from IAF's assorted aircraft -- Sukhoi-30MKI, Mirage 2000, Jaguar, MiG-21, supersonic jet trainer Hawk and subsonic trainer Kiran and a slew of helicopters.

Indian Air Force's Russian-made Sukhoi-30 aircraft lands as well other aircrafts as F-A 18 'Super Hornet', United Arab Emirates F-16, Eurofighter Typhoon during the inauguration ceremony of the "Aero India 2009" at Yelahanka air force station on the outskirts of the southern Indian city of Bangalore February 11, 2009. The 7th Aero India, organised by the ministry of defence, showcases the latest in the field of military and civil aircrafts. The show runs from February 11 to 15. Four indigenous Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) of the state-run Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) scrambled over the gathering, while a IAF fleet of Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) aerobatic team christened Sarang kept spirits soaring high. IAF's transport behemoths and air-to-air refuelling aircraft had the spectators in awe with their sheer size and functionality mid-air. "Growing in stature, size and public participation, the air show has emerged as the most important event in South Asia, drawing global attention," Defence Secretary (production) Pradeep Kumar said in his introductory remarks. With 25 countries participating and 50 official delegations, including many led by their defence ministers and air chiefs, the Indian version of the air show has come of an age to turn into a war theatre for the world's major aerospace firms and a global consortium. A total of 592 firms, including 303 from overseas and 289 from the Indian subcontinent, are showcasing their products and technologies spanning military and civilian sectors to woo the country's three armed services and the burgeoning aviation industry. The Indian government is set to invest a whopping Rs.1.4 trillion ($30 billion) over the next five years to modernise and upgrade its defence services. The IAF order to induct 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) into its depleting fleet as a replacement to the aging MiG-21 old warhorse has made the six global aerospace bidders vie for the estimated $10 billion (Rs 500 billion) contract by flying in their metal birds to show their strike power. A dozen global aerospace firms, including the state-run HAL, as well as US and German air forces have flown in their fighter jets, transport planes, a fleet of helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles for flying and static displays at the event. Among them are the American Lockheed Martin with its strike fighter F-16, Boeing with its F-18 Super Hornet, Russian MiG with MiG-35, European consortium with Eurofighter (Typhoon) and HAL/IAF with Sukhoi, Hawk, Intermediate Jet (IJT) and Dhruv. Spanning an area of 44,000 square metres as against 30,000 sq m in 2007, the exhibition area has five international pavilions hosting Australia, Belgium, Germany, Israel and Romania, 54 chalets and about 600 stalls to house international and Indian firms and a host of facilities forming the eco-system. With the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) riding high on the successful launch of India's maiden lunar mission Chandrayaan-1 to the moon, a space pavilion is also put up to flag the country's prowess in space technology and space applications. "We are expecting about 125,000 visitors, including 50,000 business delegates and about 75,000 people from across the country, especially Bangalore and Karnataka," Kumar said. To provide foolproof security and prevent any untoward incident, the venue has been turned into a fortress, with three-tier protective layer, 140 closed circuit television (CCTV), three x-ray machines, radio frequency identification (RFID), 330 defence service corps, 180 air force police personnel as well as platoons of the Central Industrial Security Force and special commando forces.