Boeing in pact with India's BEL for new facility

21 February 2009

Public sector Bharat Electronic Ltd has signed an agreement with Boeing Co of the US to jointly develop an analysis and experimentation center in India to offer services for modernising India's defence forces.

The proposed analysis and experimentation centre will be staffed with local personnel who will coordinate with India's defence ministry, the statement said.

"Establishing a decision-support capability in India is a significant step for Boeing as our company expands internationally," Vivek Lall, Boeing Integrated Defence Systems vice president and India country head said in a release.

"Boeing has similar capabilities operating in Australia (Systems Analysis Laboratory, Brisbane) and the United Kingdom (The Portal, Farnborough), each having the ability to collaborate with Boeing centers in the United States, and we are bringing that experience to India."

The facility is designed to enable government and industry to work together to explore, through analysis and experimentation, the best alternatives and the right solutions to the challenges currently facing India's defense forces. With this capability, customers can make vital decisions on the best courses of action before expending significant resources to design and build actual products.

"This joint facility will be staffed with local personnel who, with an inherent understanding of India's challenges, will be most qualified to work with the ministry of defence to explore and identify the best ways to satisfy India's capability needs," said I V Sarma, director (Research & Development), BEL. "Working together, we will develop in-country processes that allow for the development of local intellectual property and the integration of other non-U.S. products into our environment."