CHENNAI: The stage is set for DefExpo 2018, which will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 12 on the land belonging to Arulmigu Nithyakalyana Perumal Temple at Thiruvidanthai in Thiruporur taluk in Kancheepuram district. The roads are being spruced up and saplings planted. Workers are busy giving finishing touches to East Coast Road for one of Asia’s biggest defence expositions, which is likely to provide a promising platform to hundreds of indigenous defence and aerospace manufacturers to exhibit their latest technologies and products under the flagship Make in India programme.
The expo will be showcasing India’s capabilities in land, naval, internal homeland security as well as its emergence as an attractive destination for investment in defence sector by providing a platform for alliances and joint ventures in the defence industry.Vinod Surana, co-chairman of Assocham and Southern Region Development Council, told Express that 677 exhibitors, including 523 from India, had confirmed their participation in DefExpo-2018.Indian industry (both public and private), especially the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in defence production, defence public sector undertakings and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), will showcase their strengths during the show, he said.
Interestingly, several global players will also be showcasing their products. Naval Group in India, a 100 per cent owned subsidiary of Naval Group, which is headquartered in Paris, France, will be displaying SCORPENE, a 2,000-tonne conventional-propulsion submarine designed and developed by Naval Group for all types of missions such as surface vessel warfare, anti-submarine warfare, long-range strikes, special operations or intelligence gathering.
Six Scorpene class submarines are currently being manufactured at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) for the Indian Navy with transfer of technology from Naval Group.Similarly, Barracuda, a state-of-the-art and latest generation of strategic submarine for the French Navy, will also be showcased. The Israel-based aerostat company RT LTA Systems will present its SkyStar family of aerostats, including the Skystar 110, SkyStar 180 and SkyStar 330, at DefExpo 2018.The SkyStar aerostats are self-contained, versatile and easily transportable tactical systems, ideal for defence, border security and public safety missions.
French arms company Thales would highlight its efforts in line with the government’s Make in India initiative. The spotlight would be on its flagship PHAROS fire control radar, jointly developed with Bharat Electronics Limited. This system, in line with the Make in India vision, will fulfil both Indian and international market requirements.
Similarly, Swedish aerospace and defence company Saab will be exhibiting its latest range of cutting-edge technologies across land, air and naval domain covering civil and military defence, security and communication management solutions. A company release said it would display Electronic Warfare and Early Warning Systems, including the Integrated Defensive Aids Suite (IDAS), a self-protection system specifically designed for use on airborne platforms.
The IDAS is fully integrated and requires only a single controller to perform radar warning, missile approach warning and laser warning. In India, IDAS is integrated into the advanced light helicopter Dhruv.
Similarly, it will also display multi-role Globaleye, which automatically detects and tracks air and surface targets over a huge area, and can track very low-observable air and sea targets, including ‘stealthy’ aircraft, cruise missiles or submarine periscopes, even in heavy clutter and jamming environments.
As many as 47 official delegations from different countries have confirmed their participation in DefExpo as on March 30. Thirteen of these delegations are at the Ministerial level.
Fewer Foreign firms in this year’s edition
● Ajay Kumar, the defence production secretary, at a curtain-raiser in New Delhi on Wednesday said the participation of foreign defence manufacturers has dipped by at least 10 per cent. “But the number of Indian manufacturers has increased,” he said
● An official release in March 2016 said there were more than 1000 companies, both foreign and Indian, that participated in DefExpo that year. On Wednesday, however, defence ministry said a total of 671 exhibitors have booked space so far of whom 517 are Indian companies and 154 are international exhibitors
● Some say this indicates a waning interest because of tardy acquisition processes. The armed forces, in a report released by Parliament last month, said there were shortfalls across nearly all platforms that needed to be made up urgently
● The ministry claimes many firsts for the DefExpo this year — among them the attendance of the Prime Minister who would boost his ‘Make in India’ initiative
● Also, there would be ‘live demonstrations’ by Indian Navy warships at sea, visible from the coast, by the Indian army at the venue. An India-South Korea joint commission would be meeting in New Delhi in the run-up to the exhibition. An India-Russia military-industry cooperation meeting would be held at the expo venue on April 13