New Delhi (ANTARA News) – European aerospace giant EADS and India’s Tata Group announced Saturday they will jointly bid for a one-billion dollar deal to supply tactical communication systems to the Indian army.
The army will invite tenders later this year, Indian officials said on the sidelines of an arms fair in New Delhi.
“The teaming arrangement with EADS would ensure that the solution proposed is cutting edge, best-in-class and meets all the requirements of the Indian army,” Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata, was quoted by AFP as saying.
The announcement came a day after US helicopter maker Sikorsky and Tata said they were teaming up in a joint helicopter manufacturing project in India.
And earlier this week, Boeing and Tata announced an agreement to set up a collaboration to handle an initial 500 million dollars of defence-related aerospace component work in the country.
The Mumbai-based conglomerate will also supply parts for Boeing’s delay-hit Dreamliner programme as part of an agreement between the two sides unveiled on February 6.
India, which has bought defence hardware worth 25 billion dollars since 1999, is expected to spend another 30 billion dollars by 2012 for the ongoing modernisation of its million-plus military.