By IANS
New Delhi : Indicative of India’s growing military might, a record 273 defence manufacturers from 30 countries will be showcasing their varied portfolios at the DEFEXPO-2008 international exposition here Feb 16-19.
Joining them will be 202 domestic manufacturers, vying for a share of the estimated Rs.155 billion the Indian armed forces will spend over the next five years on their modernisation drive.
DEFEXPO, now in its fifth edition, “has been conceptualised to promote business activity in global land and naval systems”, secretary (defence production) Pradeep Kumar told reporters here Tuesday.
“It allows the international defence industry to promote and showcase their products and services and also gives domestic manufacturers an opportunity to do so,” he added.
“The Indian private sector is slowly acquiring strengths for defence manufacturing and the defence public sector units are beginning to leverage this,” Kumar pointed out.
“We are also looking at exports and while these are currently only at Rs.500 crores (Rs.5 billion), we hope to see these rise as the Indian industry acquires cutting edge technology from around the world,” the official said.
Spread over eight halls and 32,000 sq metres of open and covered space, DEFEXPO-2008 will see the launch of a staggering 91 new products ranging from radars, to communications systems, torpedoes, anti-mine vehicles, unmanned aerial vehicles and combat clothing.
And given the fast warming ties between New Delhi and Washington, it is not surprising that US companies should be making a beeline for the biennial exposition. A total of 46 American companies, the largest from any country, are represented at the show.
They include giants like Boeing, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Sikorsky besides the US defence department.
A major highlight of DEFEXPO-2008 is the inclusion of 16 seminars “to enable exhibitors make technology or product specific presentations to Indian defence establishments, R&D institutions, defence public sector undertakings, ordnance factories and to Indian industry”, Kumar pointed out.
Telecom and IT companies will also be showcasing their products and services at the exposition, coinciding with which the fourth India Defence Industry Summit will also be held.