INDUSTRY TEAMINGS

13 May 08. Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd (IAI) and India’s Tata group have inked a framework agreement for cooperation in the development, manufacturing, marketing and support of defence products in India. IAI president and CEO Itzhak Nissan and Tata group chairperson Ratan N. Tata signed the agreement in Tel Aviv, an IAI statement said Tuesday. This follows a memorandum of agreement that was signed Feb 17 in New Delhi during the Defexpo defence show. ‘The cooperation agreement between IAI and Tata Advanced Systems Ltd. (TASL) covers a wide range of defence and aerospace products, including missiles, UAVs, radars, electronic warfare (EW) systems and homeland security (HLS) systems,’ the statement said. The two parties will soon sign an agreement for establishing a joint venture company in India that will serve as the main vehicle for establishing indigenous capabilities. (Source: Google)

08 May 08. French defence and aerospace major Thales and Samtel group announced a joint venture to design, manufacture and sell avionics systems in the Indian market. Samtel and Thales will hold 74:26 in the venture that was started with a capital of $12.5m with more investments to be pumped in as the joint development efforts progress, officials of the two firms said at a press conference here. Helmet-mounted sight and display, for use in defence and civilian aircraft, helicopters and fighters, will be the one of the main areas of operations for
the new venture – named Samtel Thales Avionics. “We will develop and manufacture the products within the new joint venture with the aim of creating truly Indian systems,” said Francois Quentin, senior vice president for Thales in charge of aerospace activities. “Thales is a truly local player in India and the next step will be to solidify this cooperation. It will be winning the first contract,” Quentin said, adding that the Mirage 2000 upgrade for the Indian Air Force could be one potential customer. The officials said the investment in the new venture may also serve to adhere to the offsets clause of the Indian defence establishment, under which 30 percent of the value of contracts has to be invested within the country. The two companies are also working closely for the supply of advanced helmets to the Indian Navy for the MiG 29K combat aircraft. Samtel also supplies cathode tubes to Thales for avionics displays. (Source: Google)