Boeing [BA] and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), one of India’s leading defense companies, Tuesday said in New Delhi they will jointly develop an analysis and experimentation center in India to offer customers the ability to make better-informed decisions in modernizing India’s defense forces.
“Establishing a decision-support capability in India is a significant step for Boeing as our company expands internationally,” Vivek Lall, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems vice president and India country head, said. “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 center 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.
I V Sarma, director (Research & Development), BEL, said: “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. 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.”
With the latest modeling, simulation and analysis tools, customers will have the ability to conduct experiments in a collaborative, immersive environment to analyze the utility of new technologies or tactics on military operations. They will be able to explore alternative solutions and “what if” scenarios, define requirements in more detail and ultimately lower risk on developmental programs while better meeting the needs of the Indian Defence Force.
Dinesh Keskar, president of Boeing India, said: “This is an opportunity for Boeing to work closely with one of India’s foremost public-sector companies and together develop tools and technologies that will bring enduring benefits to India. This type of ‘decision support’ will ultimately reduce the time, cost and risk of bringing new and better capabilities to India’s defense forces.”
BEL is a government-owned Navratna company, a status conferred on a Central Public Sector Enterprise once it has fulfilled certain criteria. BEL designs, develops and manufactures a wide range of C4I solutions, military communication systems, radars and sonars, naval systems, and electronic warfare systems for use by defense services, paramilitary organizations and other government entities.