Press Trust of India,
In a bid to tap the Indian market, the European Aeronautic Defence and Space consortium is in the race to provide hi-tech early warning systems for helicopters and armoured vehicles of the Indian army besides offering ground-based radars and unmanned aerial vehicles.
“Early warning (EW) systems are in increasing demand worldwide with even terrorists possessing shoulder-fired missiles to attack helicopters. … We have requests from India for these equipment and we are in the bidding process to step into this business in India,” Bernhard Gerwert, CEO and President of EADS Defence Electronics, told PTI on the sidelines of an international airshow, which concluded here on Sunday.
He said the EADS would tie up with Indian companies to produce these highly sophisticated equipments and also hold talks with Indian research institutes to develop and evolve the product pattern.
Gerwert, accompanied by company Vice President Alexander Reinhardt, said the army has been asking EADS whether the system could be developed further for protecting armoured vehicles.
“The land forces have been asking for the same technology … They want the same electronic equipment to protect tanks and armoured vehicles. We have developed this equipment for German land forces,” he said, adding that negotiations were continuing with Indian companies on the issue.
Gerwert said that his firm was producing large variety of equipment for COMINT (communication intelligence), SIGINT (signal intelligence) and ELINT (electronic intelligence).
“We are developing these in India through our South African subsidiary, Greentech Aviation,” he added without elaborating on the nature of such devices.
Speaking on network-centric simulation systems which coordinate and combine wartime efforts of different wings of the armed forces, he said “EADS will develop such equipment in India, which is a leading IT power and there are lot of experts there doing research and development on these issues”.
“I cannot go into details … I can only say that there is not only expertise, but a big market in India. Why should we hire Indian experts abroad. We will go right there and do work in India and that too, very soon,” he said.
The EADS Defence Electronics produces a wide range of electronic self-protection systems, missile warning systems, radar jammers, laser-guided counter-attack measures and EW systems, which could be fitted on fighter jets like the futuristic Eurofighter 'Tornado', military choppers like Germany's Tiger, the NH90 and A400M military transport plane.
It was also developing “active protection” equipment called DIRCUM (Direct Infra-Red Counter Measure system) for aircraft, which are not just flares but active laser equipment which seek and destroy missiles.
Some other ultra hi-tech electronic devices include the Missile Launch Detection System to protect helicopters and wide-bodied aircraft against missile attacks, which could be mounted on VVIP aircraft. Another device, HELLAS-W (Helicopter Laser Radar Warning), was the only one in the world that could protect choppers from obstacles like high-voltage transmission lines by scanning the surroundings with laser beams.
