Tata wins Indian radar-jamming contract

(UPI) - India has awarded Tata Power Strategic Electronics Division a contract for two integrated electronic warfare systems to be deployed in mountain regions. Tata came out the low bidder, narrowly beating Israeli firm Elta, for the contract estimated to be around $186 million, the Press Trust of India reported.
The IEWS will be used to locate, detect and jam enemy radar and electro-optical measures in mountainous borders with China and Pakistan.
India's defense department sent out the tender in 2007 to domestic and foreign companies -- Israeli firms Elisra and Elta, Thales of France, EADS of Germany and domestic suppliers Tata Power, Larsen and Toubro, Bharat Electronics, ITI and Axis Aerospace.
The contract likely will be finalized this month, the Press Trust report said.
The deal follow another major contact win for Tata Power SED in April, a $260 million contract to modernize 30 Indian air force military airports.
Tata Power SED beat Selex of Italy to win the contract, the Modernization of Airfield Infrastructure-Phase I. It was the first win by a domestic private-sector defense company against overseas bidders.
"Award of this contract won against a global defense tender is a watershed moment, not only for us but also for increasing private-sector participation in Indian defense," said Rahul Chaudhry, chief executive officer of Tata Power SED.
The SED division of Tata Power -- India's largest private sector power utility with an installed generation capacity of over 2300 MW -- has won previous defense contracts for ordnance programs and subsystems for first-tier suppliers' equipment.
In 2006, Tata Power SED and Larsen and Toubro's heavy engineering division picked up a $45 million contract to produce 40 Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launcher systems.
SED also was part of the group, including Bharat Electronics, government research organization Defense Electronics Research Laboratory and Tata's CMC information technology company that developed the Samyukta mobile integrated electronic warfare system.
It was said to be the largest Electronic Warfare System in India when deliveries began in January 2004.
Tata's aviation business, Tata-Sikorsky, is joint venture for manufacturing aerospace components and systems in India, specifically cabins for Sikorsky's S-92 helicopter.
Production began last November, 14 months after the agreement was signed, at a new facility in the Aerospace Park on the outskirts of Hyderabad, in Andhra Pradesh state.
It was in June 2009 that the Indian conglomerate Tata joined forces with Sikorsky as a way into India's lucrative aerospace industry. Tata Advanced Systems, a subsidiary of the holding firm Tata Sons, is leading the joint venture.
At the time of the joint venture signing in 2009, Jeffrey Pino, president of Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., said they were "proud to have the highly admired Tata Group join our global supply chain" and "India's aerospace market is poised for significant growth."