Lockheed Martin to supply India with new-age defense solutions

American aerospace firm, Lockheed Martin has recently said that it is ready to meet India’s requirement for new-age military solutions in domains like air, land, sea, and cyberworld in line with the strong plan of Indo-US strategic ties.

William Blair, VP & Chief Executive of Lockheed Martin's Indian unit, said that the company is set to collaborate with Indian entities in areas like artificial intelligence, unmanned platforms, machine learning and quantum computing among others.

He also cited Lockheed's F-21 aircraft, which is made specifically to meet IAF's needs, as one of the best options in the air force’s hunt for 114 combat jets.

According to Mr. Blair, their firm would mainly emphasize the indigenization level in the plane and build a production facility in India for the export market if it gets the contract.

Lockheed has already collaborated with the Tata group for manufacturing the aircraft in India and has assured that it won't sell F-21 to any other country on the condition that a multi-billion-dollar deal is struck.

Mr. Blair remarked that they are already expanding actively via their joint ventures for attaining the capability and delivering the requirements in advance as they did earlier in the case of the C-130J programme.

He said they would meet and surpass the requirements as the firm believes in the highest level of indigenous content. Its unique production line will open up multiple opportunities for exports.

Mr. Blair pointed out that Lockheed Martin has set up strong ties with India over the last 30 years, and has become part of the country's defense and aerospace sector.

Reportedly, the aerospace firm hosted a two-day conference in Bengaluru with approximately 300 partners and suppliers last week as part of the process to further expand its overall participation in India's aerospace and defense sector.

Source Credit - https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/lockheed-to-address-india-s-requirements-for-new-age-military-solutions-121111400546_1.html