Lockheed Martin offers Aegis Combat System to Indian Navy

DW : What is the status of the F-16 bid for the IAF MMRCA tender.

Ambassador Douglas A. Hartwick, CEO of Lockheed Martin India Pvt. Ltd.: We have submitted the technical bid, offsets requirements and financial bids. Some clarifications have been sought by the MoD which we have provided. The MoD is doing a thorough job of the evaluation I must say and it must be pretty tough going through six different bids and examining each one of them minutely.

DW : What do you think of the chances of the F-16, the aircraft which Lockheed Martin has pitched, for the Indian tender.

Ambassador Douglas A. Hartwick, CEO of Lockheed Martin India Pvt. Ltd.: Frankly, the difference between the various competing aircraft could be modest considering that all the bidders may have submitted bids corresponding to the RFP. However, in the case of F-16, all major components such as the ASEA radar have been proven while this cannot be said of some of our competitors. We know for example that ASEA radar of one or two of the competitors is under development.

DW : What is the status of the C-130J Hercules procurement by India and would there be any additional orders considering India’s new requirements for homeland security.

Ambassador Douglas A. Hartwick, CEO of Lockheed Martin India Pvt. Ltd.: The program is proceeding on schedule with the first delivery of the six ordered expected in the first quarter of 2011. Beyond this we are not aware of any further procurement of heavylift transport aircraft. We do know that the IAF’s transport capabilities are gradually diminishing as of now because the ageing Antonovs and they have to do something about it soon. Within the next five years, India will need a lot more than the six they have ordered if they want to maintain their heavylift capability.

DW : We have heard of C130J procurement for weather monitoring in India.

Ambassador Douglas A. Hartwick, CEO of Lockheed Martin India Pvt. Ltd.: We are talking to the Indian National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) for two C130Js to act as weather birds to help them in disaster prediction. The NDMA is evaluating the possibility of acquiring the C130J aircraft which will carry specialized payload for weather monitoring.

DW : What other defence projects are you expecting out of India.

Ambassador Douglas A. Hartwick, CEO of Lockheed Martin India Pvt. Ltd.: We are discussing with the Indian Navy for a possible sale of the Aegis Combat System which is the heart of the combat system for US Navy. We know that India is designing and building a lot of naval ships. You have to design a ship with an integrated combat system in mind. The Aegis is a powerful and capable system for integrating on-board weapons and for ship-to-ship communication. For this sale to happen in India, the governments of the two countries have to work together.

DW : What will be focus of display at Aero India.

Ambassador Douglas A. Hartwick, CEO of Lockheed Martin India Pvt. Ltd.: While aeronautics will be an important aspect of our display at Aero India, we will be displaying a range of platforms and systems as Aero India is a big defence show as well. You will be able to see our missiles, radars, combat systems, net centric systems and other capabilities across the board. On the flying display side, we will have the C130J and the F-16 aircraft.

DW : Could you tell us something about Lockheed Martin’s involvement in innovation and tapping Indian research capabilities.

Ambassador Douglas A. Hartwick, CEO of Lockheed Martin India Pvt. Ltd.: We have a tie up with IIT Delhi to fund research in certain basic areas such as nano technology with the hope that it may lead to capabilities in security, weapons and navigation at some later stage. It will be contract research project where we fund the venture and ownership of the research will be with us. India has very good scientists and researchers and this is a way of recognizing the skills here.