Boeing received a key sensor technology for the Indian navy’s P-8I long-range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft last week from Bharat Electronics Ltd. (BEL).
BEL delivered the Indian-designed Identification Friend or Foe Interrogator – a battle management system that will enable P-8I aircraft to distinguish friendly aircraft and forces. Boeing will install the system during P-8I final assembly at its facility in Renton, Wash.
“This delivery is another positive step in our industrial participation effort with India,” said Vivek Lall, Vice President, Boeing Defense, Space & Security India. “In addition to supplying an essential technology for the Indian navy, Boeing’s partnership with BEL also supports the government of India’s industrial objectives.”
To date, indigenous P-8I deliveries also include BEL’s Data Link II communications system, Avantel’s mobile satellite system and the Electronic Corporation of India Limited’s speech secrecy system.
Mr. H N Ramakrishna, BEL board member and Marketing director, said the milestone was a demonstration of BEL’s capability to deliver cutting-edge work in avionics, software and structural components.
Boeing will deliver the first of eight P-8I aircraft to India within 48 months of the original contract signing, which took place in January 2009. India is the first international customer for the P-8. The P-8I is a variant of the P-8A Poseidon that Boeing designed and is building for the U.S. Navy.
Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), a leading Indian defense electronics major, is a government-owned Navratna company. BEL is engaged in the design, development and manufacture of a wide range of cutting-edge C4I solutions, military communication systems, radars and sonars, naval systems, and electronic warfare systems for use by defense services, paramilitary organizations and other government entities.
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