India's Defense Spending Binge II: Follow the Money!

Remember yesterday's article about India wanting to pump up their own domestic defense spending? Yeah, well...

They're looking at helicopters from Skiorsky.

Sikorsky Aircraft Corp, an arm of United Technologies (UTX.N), is eyeing defence deals worth $8-12 billion in India by 2018 and plans to manufacture its Black Hawk helicopters locally, a top official said on Wednesday.

"We are committed to approach the Indian market with the same viewpoint as we approach the U.S. market," the firm's global vice president Steve Estill told Reuters.

More helicopters from Eurocopter.

Eurocopter said Tuesday it was bidding for Indian military contracts worth up to eight billion dollars, including a deal scrapped in 2007 after it was awarded to the European helicopter maker.

"We have bid for contracts from the Indian army, air force, navy, coast guard and others worth between seven and eight billion dollars," the company's marketing vice-president Rainer Farid told AFP at an arms fair in New Delhi.

He also said that Eurocopter, the helicopter unit of European aerospace giant EADS, had resubmitted a bid for a 600-million-dollar deal to sell India 197 army helicopters.

Tank upgrades from Raytheon.

US defence major Raytheon and Indian private player Larsen and Toubro (L&T) announced on Tuesday that they were teaming up to submit a proposal this month to upgrade Indian's Army's vintage T-72 battle tanks.
The tie-up was announced on the second day of the four-day DefExpo held here since Monday.

Under the proposal, Raytheon, which has already provided 20,000 thermal sights in 15 countries, is set to arrange infrared imaging sights and gadgets which would greatly improve target accuracy and increase overall system lethality on the battlefield for the Indian Army's T-72 tank regiments.

Army has in operation about 1,600 T-72 tanks.

"Through collaboration with L&T on this important proposal for the Indian Army, we have confirmed the very complementary capabilities leveraged across our companies," said Raytheon Network Centric Systems India Operations head Fritz Treyz.

And their domestic spending? We're still working on that.


By: Brant