BrahMos to sign MOU with ISRO

The Hindu (February 26, 2009)                                                                           Print This News

Kochi: BrahMos Aerospace Ltd will sign an MOU with ISRO for launcher vehicle integration, the Company CEO, Siva Thanu Pillai, said on Thursday.

A separate production line for ISRO is expected to be ready by 2013 and the government has agreed to provide about 50 acre of land for it, Pillai said at a workshop here on 'Industrial Opportunties in Aerospace and Defence Sectors'.

BrahMos would also be partner with Atomic Energy department to manufacture precision robotics systems and manipulators for nuclear reactors, he said.

Another area of interest is the development of Aero engines for Light Combat Aircraft (LCA)s.

The aim was to make Brahmos Aerospace Rs 1,000 crore company in four years time.

Pillai said business worth Rs 10,000 crore turnover could be tapped by industries in Kerala from the defence sector in another 3-4 years time. The Indian defence market would be around USD 45 billion in the next five years.

Very soon a tripartite agreement between Bharat Electronics, National Physical Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL) and Keltron would be inked for development of varous defence systems, he said.

There were vast opportunities for Kerala based industries to contribute to the growth in defence market, Pillai said, adding, the state had Titanium reserves of about 7.5 lakh tonnes which can be mined.

With an investment of Rs 4500 crore, and production target of 10,000 tonnes per year, a company could post an annual turnover of around Rs 5,000 crore, he said.

Col Manoj Nair, Director, Army Aviation, said the Army aviation has a sizeable fleet of helicopters and a host of aircraft spares are required ranging from low technology items to high cost items procured from abroad and vendors from within the country. There was ample opportunities for industries in Kerala to step into this growing market, he said.

Only 30 per cent of defence requirements are presently procured indigenously.