Lockheed In Talks With India To Supply Missile Systems

( NASDAQ)BANGALORE -(Dow Jones)- Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) is in talks with the Indian government on selling it military equipment, including the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missile systems, as it seeks to benefit from the South Asian nation's efforts to modernize its armed forces.

Lockheed Martin is among several global defense companies that are seeking to sell advance weapon systems, fighter jets and helicopters to India to capture a share of this lucrative market. Lockheed and peer Boeing Co. (BA) have pitched themselves against India's traditional weapons suppliers, Russia, and others such as France and Germany.

The Indian federal government plans to allocate 1.47 trillion rupees ($32.5 billion) for the defense sector in the fiscal year through March 2011, up from INR1.42 trillion last year. The budget has nearly doubled from INR890 billion in the year ended March 2007.

Lockheed Martin is in initial talks with the Indian government to sell the Javelin shoulder fire missile system to the Indian Army, Joe L. Garland, vice president for international business development, in charge of missiles and fire control at Lockheed Martin, told Dow Jones Newswires Tuesday.

"The U.S. government has responded to the letter of request from India for the Javelin [missiles]," Garland said.

He said the potential contract for supplying 8,000 Javelin missiles and 300 command launchers could be valued at more than $1 billion.

Javelin was developed and produced for the U.S. Army and Marine Corps by a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and defense contractor Raytheon.

Garland said Lockheed is also in talks with the Indian government to sell its Sniper advanced targeting pods for fixed-wing aircraft. The company said 500 pods are already being used by about a dozen countries and there are pending orders for 850 more.

"All the contracts involve transfer of technology to India and we are willing to work with an Indian company for any contract," Garland said.

The U.S.-based company is also offering its Hellfire Romeo missile and Longbow radar as part of a bid by Boeing to sell 22 Apache AH-64 helicopters to India, Garland said.

Lockheed is among six companies that have been chosen to bid for an estimated $10 billion fighter-jet contract of the Indian Air Force, the largest in the world in the last 15 years.

It has offered the F-16 fighter jet and Chicago-based Boeing has pitched the F/A-18 plane. The other planes that are in the reckoning are Russia's MiG-35, the Saab Gripen, Dassault's(AM.FR) Rafale, and the Eurofighter Typhoon, a joint venture between European Aeronautic Defense & Space Co. NV (EAD.FR), BAE Systems PLC (BA.LN) and Italy's Finmeccanica SpA (FNC.MI).

Orville Prins, Lockheed's vice president, business development, in charge of India, said the company will deliver the remaining five Super Hercules C-130J military transport planes to India this year.

Lockheed is implementing an order for supplying six Super Hercules planes in a deal worth about $1 billion. The company sealed the order in February 2008.

The first plane was delivered to the Indian Air Force late last year and was inducted into the Indian Air Force on Feb. 7.