Boeing’s global F/A-18 Super Hornet team of General Electric, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, GKN Aerospace with the leadership of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and Mahindra Defence Systems, at the signing ceremony of the partnership for the Make in India F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter, at DefExpo in Chennai | Photo: Boeing
U.S. aviation giant Boeing has announced a partnership with India’s state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and private-sector Mahindra Aerospace for the production of F/A-18 Super Hornet fighters in India.
Boeing India President Pratyush Kumar announced the tie-up with HAL chairman T. Suvarna Raju and S. P. Shukla, Group President of Aerospace & Defence, Mahindra Group and Chairman of Mahindra Defence Systems at a media conference at DefExpo 2018 at Chennai, on Thursday. Dan Gillian, Vice President, F/A-18 Program, Boeing, D.K. Venkatesh, Director, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, and N. Raviswaran, Head, Strategic Partnerships, Mahindra Defence Systems, signed a three-way ‘Memorandum of Agreement’ at DefExpo 2018.
A statement issued by Boeing quoted Pratyush Kumar as saying, “Boeing is excited to team up with India’s only company that manufactures combat fighters, HAL, and India’s only company that manufactures utility and surveillance aircraft, Mahindra. This partnership brings the best of Indian public and private enterprises together in partnership with the world’s largest aerospace company, Boeing, to accelerate a contemporary 21st century ecosystem for aerospace & defence manufacturing in India.”
Boeing has offered the latest Block III Super Hornet to the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Pratyush Kumar said further in the statement, “Our partnership with HAL and Mahindra will enable us to optimize the full potential of India’s public and private sector to deliver next-generation F/A-18 fighter capabilities. Together we can deliver an affordable, combat-proven fighter platform for India, while adding growth momentum to the Indian aerospace ecosystem with manufacturing, skill development, innovation and engineering and job creation.”
According to the statement, ‘the Super Hornet Make in India proposal is to build an entirely new and state-of-the-art production facility that can be utilized for other programs like India’s Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) program’.
It quoted T. Suvarana Raju as saying, “Hindustan Aeronautics Limited has always been at the forefront of aerospace development in India’s aerospace sector. This partnership with Boeing and Mahindra Defence Systems will create an opportunity to develop capabilities of the aerospace industry and strengthen indigenous platforms in India thereby contributing to the Make-in-India activities.”
S. P. Shukla said in the statement, “As one of the largest private sector defence companies, we look forward to supporting the modernization effort of our armed forces and achieving economies of scale in the aerospace and defence sector.”
Partnerships on Fighter Production
This announcement comes less than a week after the long-awaited publication of a new Indian Air Force (IAF) Request For Information (RFI) for 110 new fighter aircraft with a ‘Make in India’ emphasis. Boeing is the third international manufacturer to have announced a partnership with Indian companies for the production of fighter aircraft in India.
Lockheed Martin had signed a Letter of Intent with Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL), part of the Tata industrial conglomerate, for the production of the F-16 fighter in India, at the Paris Air Show, last year.
Sweden’s Saab announced a ‘partnership’ with the Adani Group for the potential future production of the Gripen fighter in India, last year.
Chapter 07 Rules
Boeing and Saab have also submitted responses for the Indian Navy’s RFI for 57 Multi Role Carrier Borne Fighter Aircraft (MRCBFA) issued in January 2017, along with bids for the French Rafale and Russian MiG-29K.
While the Indian Navy RFI was not issued under Chapter 07 of the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) requiring a selected OEM to produce the fighters in India in Strategic Partnership with an Indian company, the IAF fighter requirement RFI has been issued under Chapter 07.
Although Lockheed Martin, Saab and now Boeing have concluded such arrangements of intent with Indian companies, these tie-ups may not necessarily mean anything, as was outlined by StratPost, last year.
Chapter 07 of the DPP outlines an entirely different procedure for the selection of an Indian strategic partner and it is not up to Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to designate their own partners. The technical selection of fighter aircraft and the selection of the Indian strategic partner will be made under a process outlined in Chapter 07 and conducted by the Indian defence ministry and IAF, who will take the final call on both, fighter aircraft, as well as, Indian partner.
Preeminence of HAL
This notwithstanding, Boeing’s announcement of engagement with HAL shortly after the publication of the RFI is prescient, given that, even though Chapter 07 is primarily intended to promote partnerships with Indian private industry for in-country production of strategically important defence equipment, it does allow for the possibility of a role played by government-owned Defence Public Sector Units (DPSUs) like HAL. More importantly, it is difficult to envisage the production of any fighter aircraft in India without a significant and substantial participation in the project by the Indian aviation DPSU, and Thursday’s announcement by Boeing is as much an acceptance of this inevitability.
Indeed, it is likely that other fighter aircraft manufacturers will announce similar arrangements with HAL, as well, to make sure their conversations with the manufacturer of the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) begin early in the process.
Navy Aircraft Production?
What is also interesting is that Boeing’s statement on Thursday announced the partnership ‘for manufacturing the F/A-18 Super Hornet in India for its armed forces’. This also signals Boeing’s intent to allow for the possibility of at least some production in India of their F/A-18 Super Hornet wins the Indian Navy’s order for 57 fighter aircraft.
Prime?
Finally, Chapter 07 requires the selected Indian strategic partner to be the prime bidder and contractor for any eventual order. It is not yet clear whether HAL or Mahindra Defence Systems (MDS) would play this role.
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