New Delhi: Lockheed Martin announced November 9 the culmination of its 9th annual Suppliers Conference held in Bengaluru. The company reiterated its commitment to enhancing indigenous defence capabilities of the Indian industry to boost the government’s mission of increasing ‘Made in India’ defence exports.
The two-day event saw more than 60 Indian companies of all sizes — large, MSMEs and start-ups participating in the conference and receiving the opportunity to showcase their capabilities to all four business areas of Lockheed Martin and international partners like GE Aviation, Honeywell, L3Harris Technologies, Raytheon Technologies, THALES and Elbit Systems among others. More than 250 delegates attended the event and over 100 business to business meetings were organized to explore partnership opportunities.
Chief Minister of Karnakata, B S Bommai graced the event as the chief guest for the inaugural ceremony. The Chief Minister’s address focused on the vast talent and incentives that the state of Karnataka has to offer to fulfil India’s mission of being ‘Atmanirbhar’ in defence. Key representatives from state governments besides industry leaders spoke at the event to reinforce their commitment to develop a defence and aerospace ecosystem in India.
“Lockheed Martin, in association with our Indian partners, continues to promote an indigenous defence manufacturing ecosystem in India, in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s resounding vision of achieving $5 billion worth of defence exports by 2025,” said William L. Blair, chief executive, Lockheed Martin India.
“We are excited to explore further opportunities to strengthen our presence in India and advance India’s strategic security and industrial capabilities,” Blair said. “We saw an encouraging response from our supply chain network, MSMEs, start-ups and the industry who engaged in productive conversations focused on realizing the government’s vision of ‘Make in India, Make for the World.”
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) was recognized as an Outstanding Supplier by the Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems (RMS) Global Supply Chain Organization and India Multi-Role Helicopter (MRH) team for outstanding support, dedication, and commitment to the success of the India MRH Program. HAL demonstrated outstanding customer focus through delivery of the first two indigenous Identify Friend or Foe — Transponder units and became the first Indian supplier to provide Buyer Nominated Equipment for integration on the India MRH platform.
Another Indian manufacturer, SASMOS HET Technologies was recognized as an Outstanding Supplier by the Lockheed Martin RMS and Missiles and Fire Control Global Supply Chain Organizations and the program teams for their commitment to the success of the Aegis Low Noise Amplifier (LNA) and HELLFIRE programs. During the past two years, while working smartly and safely through the pandemic, SASMOS delivered over 18,000 assemblies, demonstrating an outstanding customer focused approach while meeting or exceeding requirements.
The event reiterated Lockheed Martin’s resolve to develop the capabilities of suppliers and to give them access to the global supply chain to manufacture in India, from India, for India and for the world.
Post the conference, Lockheed Martin Supply chain teams have visited more than 25 suppliers across India to assess their capabilities and establish alliances.
