News about India’s top ranking as an arms importer come as the country prepares to host one of the region’s largest weapons trade shows, Defexpo India 2012, in New Delhi, from March 29 to April 1, according to the NDIA blog site National Defense.
U.S. manufacturers are expected to display an array of big-ticket equipment. Several of the Pentagon’s top suppliers will also participate in the upcoming U.S. India Business Council Executive Mission to India March 26 to March 31.
Textron Systems, a Textron Inc. company will showcase ground-based smart weapons, which use the company’s precise, reliable sensors and safety mechanisms to complete military missions while protecting friendly forces and non-combatants. For example, Textron Defense Systems’ Spider is a man-in-the-loop, networked munition system incorporating sensors, communications and either lethal or non-lethal effects for scalable, selective engagement.
BAE Systems will be at Defexpo as part of a joint venture called Defence Land Systems India. The company will be offering its CV90 family of armored vehicles, BvS10, and the M777 155mm Lightweight Field Howitzer with a model of the Type 45 naval destroyer. ATK will be marketing precision-guided munitions for artillery and mortars, artillery fuzing, ammunition and accessories for law enforcement and special operations forces, missile warning systems, small-caliber ammunition and illuminating flares. It will also be promoting its Mk44 30mm cannon and the Apache helicopter’s 625 round-per-minute M230 30mm chain gun.
What this means
The strong showing by these and other American and European suppliers simply means that the Russians and the Israelis will have serious competition. Don’t expect any vendor to roll over just yet. The fun has barely begun as the high-stake battle over procurement unfolds. To learn more about how you can prepare, visit www.amritt.com/defense
