(This article is originally posted by Dinakar Peri on the Hindu)
Collins Aerospace, a unit of the Raytheon Technologies and one of the world’s largest suppliers of aerospace and defence products, has been involved in the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas programme and is interested in the avionics side of the business especially sensors and display systems, said Sunil Raina, MD, Customer & Account Management.
He said the company is looking at expanding its presence in the civil aviation industry.
“In addition, we are also working with LCA for our mechanical, aerostructure and power control equipment on the aircraft. We are able to offer a complete solution on these platforms and have been in multiple discussions with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) on these hi-tech products. This is also true for LCA-MK1A,” Mr. Raina
At the Aero India early this month, HAL was awarded a ₹47,000-crore contract for 83 LCA 73 of them higher capacity LCA-Mk1A variant with deliveries scheduled to begin in early 2024. This takes the LCA jets on order to 123. The indigenous content is about 52% and HAL is looking at ways to increase it to 65%.
Collins serves a substantial customer base in India, including local and international governments, aerospace original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and defence contractors, and is betting big on the civil aviation sector too.
Stating that Collins is the largest exporter of aerospace products, Mr. Raina said the Indian team has produced over 235 patents which cover inventions across all strategic business units and disciplines. “We helped India become a major aerospace manufacturing hub with a thriving ecosystem within the region by developing suppliers and offering better products and services.”
