18/08/2015
-TECH PUTS , DEFENCE MFG IN NEW ORBIT
From Components To The Cabin Of 's -92 , All Are Now ` '
Not many would know that the cabin of the S-92 chopper that ferries around US President is Made in Hyderabad' as are some crucial components powering Isro's interplanetary craft to Mars, Mangalyaan.
When lost the coveted in 2008, it came as a blessing in disguise for the state. Ratan Tata promised a dejected state government that he would park an equally prestigious project in , propelling Hyderabad's aerospace and defence manufacturing sector into a new orbit.
He kept his promise, and that's how Advanced Systems Ltd set up its facility at India's first aerospace SEZ at on the outskirts of putting the city on the global defence and aerospace manufacturing map through joint ventures with Lockheed Martin and of and player pumping in investments of over Rs 4,000 crore. Today, Hyderabad's second wave of investments in this sector has made it the biggest challenger to Bangalore's supremacy in aerospace and defence.
While Bangalore emerged as an aeronautics hub thanks to HAL (which also has a small presence in Hyderabad), Hyderabad has a stronger missile base, the foundation of which was laid after the 1962 Indo-China war. Premier government-run institutes like Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL) and Research Center Imarat (RCI), among others, were set up in the city, which was considered safe as it was well outside the range of hostile neighbours' missiles.
“In the past few years, SMEs manufacturing components for these defence institutions have started building subsystems as well as systems for them.These institutions have also ensured a steady flow of talent for the sector, which requires highly-skilled manpower,“ explains G Satheesh Reddy, scientific adviser to the defence minister. He added that over 70% of components for the Akash range of missiles too are being sourced from Hyderabad SMEs.
In fact, Hyderabad's strong base of over 1,000 SMEs, coupled with IT firms catering to the aerospace segment, has proved to be a major draw for global aerospace giants. This is also what perhaps prompted Boeing to bet on Hyderabad in partnership with the Tatas.
“Hyderabad's strategic advantages are its emerging industrial base, infra structure and availability of skilled manpower. All these are critical to develop a competitive aerospace and defence base and we took this into con sideration while signing a framework agreement with TASL to collaborate in aerospace and defence manufacturing exploring potential integrated systems development opportunities, including unmanned aerial vehicles,“ Boeing In dia president Pratyush Kumar said.
In fact, Boeing is already working with Hyderabad-based Avantel on mobile satellite systems for the P-8I mili ary aircraft and Cyient Ltd (formerly nfotech Enterprises) for many of its commercial airplane projects.
This ecosystem is also giving wings o the multi-billion dollar maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) sector in the city. In May 2015, Air India set up its Rs 80-crore MRO at the Hyderabad international airport, even as the 250-acre GMR Aerospace Park SEZ housing GMR Aerospace Engineering Company Ltd services narrow bodied aircraft like Airbus A 320 and Boeing 737, among others.
“Hyderabad is important also from the maintenance perspective as it has been a base maintenance station of erstwhile Indian Airlines from the very early days. The required manpower and higher level of tools, equipment, processes and systems necessary to carry out higher level checks on the aircraft were already available. Hyderabad is now being seen as a major maintenance hub for captive work load of Air India as well as third party business,“ says HR Jagannath, CEO, Air India Engineering Services Limited (AIESL).
Now US-based Pratt & Whitney is gearing up to launch its third global centre after US and China for training aircraft engineers and technicians near Hyderabad airport.
To keep the sector cruising smoothly, the Telangana government is not only setting up the state's second aerospace park spread over 1,000 acres at on Hyderabad's outskirts as the 500-acre Adibatla Aerospace and Precision Engineering Park is already saturated but is also giving finishing touches to an aerospace policy to be announced in November, says IT secretary .
