Mahindra Defence Systems said it has entered into a long-term partnership with Government of India-controlled defence electronics manufacturer Bharat Electronics Ltd “to jointly address emerging opportunities in the domestic market”.
The two will address opportunities created by policy initiatives of the Government of India, like ‘Make in India’ and the ‘Export Promotion Policy’ of the Ministry of Defence to target the export market, the Mumbai-based company said.
It said the two companies have complementary strengths, as Mahindra specializes in weapons systems, while BEL focuses on electronics and other internal hardware.
BEL, it pointed out, has expertise in design, development, engineering, manufacture of Radar & Weapon Systems, NCS and Communications systems, Electronic Warfare & Avionics, Naval Systems, Electro-optics products, Tank Electronics & Gun Systems, Satcom systems, Strategic Components and civilian products.
Mahindra Defence, on the other hand, has its expertise in defence equipment, light military vehicle, armoured vehicles, aerospace and aviation platforms, simulators, airborne equipment, naval equipment and materials.
“Both BEL and Mahindra Defence are world class engineering companies,” said SP Shukla, chairman of Mahindra Defence.
“To give one example, together we have capabilities in mobility, survivability, lethality, electronics and communications, making us ideal partners for new development as well as for upgrade of in service combat vehicles.
“This partnership can be grown not only to meet the requirements of Indian Armed Forces but also to target exports to other friendly countries.”
“We are keen to bring to the table our in-house expertise as well as technical know-how to the current and future design of new generation defence systems and products,” said Gowtama, CMD of BEL.
“We are confident that the two of us will work together to contribute to indigenous defence production.”
The announcement comes a day after Mahindra Defence said it was chosen as the Indian partner for delivering the Japanese amphibious aircraft Shinmayva US-2.