New Delhi dpa) - The Tata Group announced Saturday that it was planning a partnership with European defence and aerospace consortium EADS to bid for a 1-billion-dollar communication system project of the Indian army, a company statement said. Tata Advanced Systems (TAS), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Tata Group, along with other group companies would be tying up with EADS Defence and Security, United States-based Raytheon and Precision Electronics to bid for the Indian Army's tactical communication project, the release said.
The communication system project, which is expected to be announced later in 2008, is aimed at replacing the army's current system with the latest and most sophisticated technology.
The Indian Army had issued a detailed request for information to more than 40 defence companies and systems integrators worldwide in 2007 for the system.
Recognising the national importance of the project, the Tata Group had decided to launch new umbrella company TAS which would leverage the capabilities of several group companies with a view to implementing the project, group chairman Ratan Tata was quoted as saying in the statement.
EADS would be responsible for the system's architectural design and integration in the proposed bid, the statement said. TAS, EADS and the other partners together had the capabilities to meet the operational needs of the army and ensure the project was indigenous in procurement, integration and delivery, it added.
TAS, with a focus on defence and aerospace, is the latest addition to the Tata Group comprising more than 95 companies with interests ranging from engineering, automobiles, information technology and telecommunications to hospitality. The group has a market capitalization of 61.81 billion dollars.
TAS also announced Saturday that it planned to explore opportunities in India for manufacturing and marketing unmanned aerial vehicles jointly with Israeli firm Urban Aeronautics.
The company has also signed a memorandum of understanding with United States-based helicopter manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft to manufacture S-92 chopper cabins in India, according to a separate statement issued on Friday.
The cabin would be displayed at the Tata's pavilion at the Defexpo 2008, a military exposition organized by the Indian Defence Ministry and the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), that opened in New Delhi Saturday the statement said.
A record 475 defence-related manufacturers, including 273 foreign firms, are showcasing their wares at the exposition, a CII official said.
It is estimated that the Indian government would be spending over 155 billion rupees (about 3.9 billion dollars) over the next five years in upgrading systems and renewing ageing equipment and hence the rush to display at the exhibition, IANS news agency reported.
