Military
OEM
Boeing Defense — A Long Standing Journey in India With a local sustainment footprint, indigenous execution and local training, Boeing Defense India (BDI) ensures the high availability of platforms for missions at a competitive cost structure By Air Vice Marshal Sanjay Bhatnagar (Retd)
Photograph: Boeing / Twitter
In a recent development, on April 22, 2022, Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met Ted Colbert, CEO, Boeing Defense and discussed opportunities for investments and growth in maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) and aircraft leasing in India. The Finance Minister was visiting the US to attend IMF-WB Spring Meetings 2022. Last decade has witnessed increased Indo-US military engagement. Enhanced defence partnership has translated into Indian defence supplies from the US rising to approximately over $20 billion. Most of it has come from the US aerospace and defence major, Boeing Defense, Space & Security (BDS). It is emerging to be a key partner to Indian armed forces. It has been offering defence equipment for the Indian Air Force (IAF), Indian Navy (IN) and the Indian Army, across various domains of operations. C-17 Globemaster IIIs In 2009 the IAF had selected the C-17 Globemaster IIIs for its requirement of ‘very heavy lift transport aircraft’. The $4.5 billion contract was signed in 2011 and the first C-17 Globemaster IIIs was inducted in 2013. With the last aircraft delivered in 2019, the IAF now has a fleet of 11 C-17 Globemaster IIIs, becoming the biggest operator of these aircraft in the world, outside of the US.
12
ISSUE 5 • 2022
www.sps-aviation.com
