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Boeing Defense @India

Boeing remains committed to its efforts to further the Aatmanirbhar vision for manufacture, sustainment, and support of the Indian Navy’s P-8I fleet.
BIRDS hub is a Boeing-led ‘in-country network and alliance of suppliers’ in India to provide engineering, maintenance, skilling, repair, and sustainment services for defense aircraft operated by both the IAF and the Indian Navy.

Boeing’s ambitious plan of making an MRO hub for the likes of P-8I comes under the backdrop of a recent meeting of senior Boeing officials with the Defence Minister of India.

Boeing is exploring the opportunity of making a Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul hub for aircraft like the P8I maritime reconnaissance plane which can be utilized by each nation. With these plans taking shape soon, India will emerge as a major Aerospace & defense hub of Southeast Asia.

India – US Bilateral relations

Inching towards Major Defence Partnerships

Boeing’s ambitious plan comes under the backdrop of a recent meeting of senior Boeing officials with the Defence Minister of India, Mr. Rajnath Singh. During the meeting plans to Mr. Singh asked the officials to take advantage of policy initiatives in India to steadily march from ‘Make in India’ towards ‘Make for the World’. Later during the bilateral talks between the Indian and US governments talks were on to develop a Major Defence Partnership between the two countries.

Co-production of military methods was a key part of the talks, with rising expertise areas together with synthetic intelligence, cyber defense, and house cooperation on the desk.  Both the countries will now jointly work on futuristic technologies considered a major step above a simple buyer-seller relationship. Going ahead, the US defense firms are more likely to spend money on India considering India’s effective self-dependent attitude. Major US arms producer Raytheon is more likely to make investments of USD 100 million in organizing manufacturing and analysis services in India, leading to over 2,000 new job creations in India.

The latest on the bi-lateral ties is that India has shared a document with the US outlining emerging areas where military technology cooperation can be undertaken by the two nations and specialized teams are likely to conduct visits in the coming weeks to take the proposals forward.

Boeing Defence and India

Boeing’s plan of setting up a defense MRO in India goes back to between to 2013 when the first P-8I aircraft was inducted into the Indian Navy making India the first country outside the United States to get one. The Navy has been receiving them regularly since.  India currently operates a fleet of 12 Boeing-manufactured P-8I, contracted under two deals collectively worth USD 3.2 billion.

Boeing Defence is a  key partner of India’s defense forces. Today, India has 11 C-17 Globemaster IIIs, 12 P-8Is, 22 AH-64E Apaches, and 15 CH-47F(I) Chinooks.

In 2020, Boeing signed an agreement with the Government of India for the acquisition of six AH-64E Apache helicopters for the Indian Army.

Boeing Defense India (BDI), established in 2017, is the local operating entity expanding Boeing’s engagement with India to deliver advanced capability and readiness to India’s military forces. It is developing a competitive supplier base in-country that is integrated into Boeing’s global supply chain. With a local sustainment footprint, indigenous execution, and local training, BDI ensures the high availability of platforms to Boeing customers for missions at a competitive cost structure.

BDS has a proven portfolio of products and services on offer to India. The Boeing product range extends to intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities, tankers, unmanned systems, security solutions, and services and support.

The robust P-8I aircraft, the soul of the Indian Navy

The first P-8I produced by Boeing flew in 2009 and has been in service with the US Navy since 2013, the same year as the Indian Navy. Apart from India and the US, it has been chosen by six other militaries in the world. The aircraft has two variants — the P-8I, which is manufactured for the Indian Navy, and the P-8A Poseidon, which is flown by the US Navy, 

According to Boeing, the P-8 is a “multi-mission maritime patrol aircraft, excelling at anti-submarine warfare; anti-surface warfare; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and search and rescue”.

While the Indian Navy uses it for maritime operations, the aircraft was also used in eastern Ladakh in 2020 and 2021, when the standoff with China was at its peak, to keep an eye on Chinese troops and their maneuvers.

Surendra Ahuja, managing director, Boeing Defence India said, “Customer centricity, commitment to the modernization, and mission-readiness of India’s defense forces are key values to our partnership with India. With the delivery of the P-8I maritime patrol aircraft, we continue to nurture this partnership and are fully committed to working closely with India’s defense forces to deliver the right value and capabilities to meet their operational needs.”

The P-8I has replaced the aging Soviet/Russian Tupolev Tu-142s and is capable of anti-submarine; intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR); patrolling, coastline defense, and other operations. Today the P-8I is an integral part of the Indian Navy’s fleet and has surpassed 35,000 flight hours.

The P-8I can fly as high as 41,000 feet and has a short transit time, which reduces the size of the Area of Probability when searching for submarines, surface vessels, or search and rescue survivors. It is also used for low altitude, humanitarian, and search and rescue missions.

The aircraft has two engines, and is about 40 meters long, with a wingspan of 37.64 meters. Each aircraft weighs about 85,000 kg and has a top speed of 490 knots or 789 km/hour. It requires a crew of nine, and has a range of 1,200+ nautical miles, with 4 hours on station, which means about 2,222 km.

So far more than 140 P-8 aircraft have executed more than 400,000 mishap-free flight-hours around the globe. It comes with one of the most advanced weapon systems in the world, and has a life of around 25 years, or 25,000 hours in the harshest maritime flight regimes, including extended operations in icing environments.

It is not only one of Boeing’s most advanced aircraft, but it uses a first-in-industry in-line production system. It plays a crucial role in being the eyes of the Indian Navy and carrying out critical maritime operations and provides it a significant edge in the strategically important Indian Ocean region.

‘BIRDS’ – Boeing India Repair Development and Sustainment (BIRDS) hub initiative.

BIRDS hub is a Boeing-led ‘in-country network and alliance of suppliers’ in India to provide engineering, maintenance, skilling, repair, and sustainment services for defense aircraft operated by both the IAF and the Indian Navy. It also seeks to build skilled manpower in the country by conducting training programs. This helps sub-tier suppliers and micro; small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) develop MRO capabilities.

Just last year, Boeing signed a strategic collaboration with Air Works for the MRO of the VIP transport aircraft fleet operated by the Indian Air Force (IAF).

Air Works managing director and CEO Anand Bhaskar said, “The strategic collaboration with Boeing transforms our existing relationship into a new, enriched avatar. We are proud to be the first Indian company to partner with Boeing as part of its Boeing India Repair Development and Sustainment (BIRDS) hub initiative and we remain excited, committed, and privileged to have been chosen to work with them on such a prestigious and critical project that builds, as well as test India’s indigenous MRO capabilities.”

Boeing Defence India managing director Surendra Ahuja said: “This strategic agreement with Air Works positions us to generate significant value for our defense customers locally by delivering faster turnaround, exceptional operational capability, and mission readiness on Boeing aircraft. This is an important step in our commitment to the government of India’s Atmanirbhar Bharat vision of developing India as an MRO hub.”

This partnership also includes MRO support to the Indian Navy-operated, Poseidon 8I.

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Boeing is preparing a series of flight tests in Goa to demonstrate the take-off and landing capabilities of the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet from Indian aircraft carriers. The tests are planned for the May-June 2022 timeframe and will see Boeing dispatch two US Navy (USN) F/A-18Es to the Indian navy’s Shore-Based Test Facility at INS Hansa near Goa.

“The jets will demonstrate the ability to take off using a ski-jump ramp, and also make arrested landings on a runway configured as an Indian carrier”, said, Alain Garcia, vice-president of India business development for Boeing Defense, Space & Security.

New Delhi has had a long-running requirement for 57 new carrier-capable fighters. Initially, it is likely to obtain the first tranche of 26 aircraft, of which eight need to be two-seaters. For the time being the Indian navy is assessing its options, and has yet to produce a formal request for proposals (RFP).

Boeing Defence @Atmanirbhar Bharat

Boeing remains committed to its efforts to further the Aatmanirbhar vision for manufacture, sustainment, and support of the Indian Navy’s P-8I fleet. Boeing Defence India (BDI), Boeing’s local entity in India, supports India’s growing P-8I fleet by providing training to Indian Navy flight crews, spare parts, ground support equipment, and field-service representative support. Boeing’s integrated logistics support has enabled a high state of fleet readiness at the lowest possible cost.

Several complex and mission-critical P-8I components such as the radar fingerprinting system, IFF (I/T) and datalink, speech secrecy system, mobile Satcom system, and wire harnesses are made in India by supplier partners, including Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) located across the nation. Boeing plans to enhance in-country technical services support for the P-8I fleet by leveraging the skills and expertise of Boeing’s India Engineering and Technology Center.

Even in the Union budget of the country, a whopping 5.25 trillion rupees were allocated to the defense sector. Besides Indian defense is eyeing more encouragement from the private sector to take up the design and development of military platforms and equipment. A quarter of the research and development (R&D) budget of the Ministry of Defence is set aside for private players, including start-ups and academia.

Prior to the pandemic, India exported defense items worth more than Rs 38,000 crore in the past seven years and the country hopes to become an overall net exporter soon, whereas the contribution of the private sector has increased to Rs 18,000 crore.

Looking at the massive government support towards private defense investments, the strategic location of India, and a vast resource of skilled labor it is only a matter of time before OEMs like Boeing invest in the country and give a boost to becoming the MRO hub.

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Time alone will tell whether India will succeed in setting up an independent and self-reliant military-industrial complex that can meet the demands of its armed forces.