By Kamal Shah
Boeing held a roundtable conference at the Farnborough International Airshow 2022, during which Salil Gupte, President, Boeing India, shared his insights on recent developments and the status of a myriad of projects painting a picture of the company’s present and proposed commercial operations in both the civil and defence aerospace domain.
A query about whether Mr Gupte’s focus was more on the business’s defence or civil aerospace side in his operations in India elicited an interesting take on the Indian market from the President of Boeing India. He said, “I would say that’s the beauty of the Indian market- both are important to us. So, I focus pretty much on both. Within a couple of years, India will be the third largest civil aviation market in the world. It already is domestically. When you include internationally, we’ll be full up behind the US and China within a couple of years.”
“And then defence–a huge capability, and a presence, is being built- for obvious reasons given the neighbourhood that India is in. So, that is something we have been supporting in the last decade and will continue to support. So, for me, they are both vital. And India is unique for us in that realm. If you look at some of the other countries that we have a lot of business in, they’re either very big in defence or very big in commercial; India has both,” he elaborated.
When further probed about how much of the billion-dollar component being sourced from India in terms of percentages is specifically set for defence, Mr Gupte told those gathered at the briefing, “off the top of my head, I don’t know- and it doesn’t matter because this is a concept that I have been talking about with both the Raksha Mantri and the Civil Aviation Minister and the Defence Secretary and the Civil Aviation Secretary, is this concept of synergy between commercial and defence. If you think about the countries that have really ramped up aerospace manufacturing over the past 10-20 years, they have all focused on making sure that they leverage the scale of both civil and defence.”
He explained that this is how one gets the best capability and comes down the cost curve the fastest- which of course, one has to do to be competitive in the export market. “India’s policies have largely been focused on one or the other- defence policies and civil aerospace policies. We have been encouraging both ministries to see what can be done to bring that together and leverage that synergy. MRO is a great example of this. There is this big focus on maintenance, repair and overhaul at the Prime Minister level for both commercial and defence.”
To further explain his point, Mr Gupte cited an example from the company’s inventory: “We have our P8, which is a 737 derivative. So, much of the MRO, aside from weapon systems etc., is commercial common. It is similar to the maintenance on a 737. So, we worked with Airworks in Hosur in Tamil Nadu to do the first maintenance that has been done on P8 outside the US- it’s been done in India. It’s done in the Tamil Nadu Defence Corridor. That is important because of the capability that Airworks builds on 737; of course, they will eventually take it to the civil market. And that will meet the government’s goals of indigenisation for civil MRO.”
Since Boeing is pitching the F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter aircraft for the Indian Navy, it was only natural that Mr Gupte was asked how the trials for this jet are going. The Boeing India President said that the trials are complete, and the company is hopeful about gaining more perspective on these in the coming days. He mentioned that Steve Parker, Boeing’s head of Bombers and Fighters, was in Riyadh early this week and talked a little bit about the trials. “They went very well, and at this point, we are looking forward to the Navy’s report on them. But we did heavy lift on them, we carried 4 missiles, and we will have more details about that in the coming days,” he added.
Super Hornet remained a hot topic in the briefing. With the Indian Navy’s new aircraft carrier entering the service, the prospect of procuring the FA/18 Super Hornet along with the MQ-25 entering as a package in the product mix was discussed. Mr Gupte pointed out two things at this point. “One, there are opportunities for the US and India to partner when it comes to autonomous systems. Two, because the Super Hornet that we are offering for the naval fighter campaign is the US Navy’s frontline carrier-based fighter and is specifically designed for carrier usage- it’s not modified for carrier usage like some aircraft- that means there is a certain level of carrier compatibility work that comes from operating that aircraft, know-how that comes from operating that aircraft that can be useful on India’s own future fighter aircraft. So it is not just one or the other, it is not just the MQ-25 autonomous refuelling or the Super Hornet, it is when you have a discussion around both autonomous and carrier compatibility.”
He had also elaborated on the first point earlier in the briefing, clarifying that while the company had not made a pitch regarding the MQ-25, there are lots of exciting opportunities for autonomous collaboration between Boeing and the Indian industry, but also between US and India. “The ability to discuss autonomous platforms like that has to be first kicked off by the US. It has to be led on a G2G basis, but there are opportunities there,” he had opined.
Questions about the Indian Armed Forces continued to appear regularly in the briefing. Along this line of queries, Mr Gupte was asked if Boeing India was amidst ongoing projects with the Indian Air Force. He told those present, “We are always talking to the airforce about their interest in the AEW&C (or AWACs as they tend to call it). There have been a number of dialogues over the years on that. I think there is a certain direction that they are going. But to the extent that they’re initiating new platforms, we are happy to talk to them about that. But I think there are other various things they are exploring with DRDO.”
Mr Gupte was also quizzed about the Apaches for the Indian Army. He noted that the service has signed up for six, and “they can do more, I think. The Army of course has expressed interest in evaluating additional means. But at this stage, everyone is focused on getting the six delivered.”
The conversation also touched upon steps taken to prop up the Indian MRO industry, which would take anywhere between 8 months to 12 months to fructify the tax structure, among other things. Mr Gupte offered his take on this: “That’s all there- you can change the tax structure; you have to prime the pump with work. We, Boeing as OEMs or Airbus or Embraer, we don’t direct where civil MRO work goes. The airlines decide that. But what we can do, is that when we have defence work that we do direct, we can make sure we use that work to build capability in the country, and that makes the in-country MRO more attractive for the civil customers- because that capability is developed within the borders of India. That is the kind of thing we do to develop the capability the nation needs.”
Upon being asked about the status of the P-8s and if any information can be expected in the coming months, the Boeing India President shared: “We all know that there is a requirement for P-8s- that is not up for debate. We also know that P-8s have a capability and can achieve a mission for which there is no substitute. No other aircraft can do what a P-8I can do exactly. Third, we also know that India uses its P-8Is in ways that go far beyond the other users of P-8s.
“The diversified missions that India uses P-8Is for are quite unique. And when you take those three things into account, then you have to evaluate the indigenisation element. Because at the end of the day, P-8 is a variant of the 737 made in the US. It is made on one assembly line for scale economies, and that’s the only way it becomes cost-effective. So, then the question you have to ask yourself is what is the indigenisation story of the P-8 and how does it fit into Atamanirbhar Bharat,” he added.
“And what I would tell you is it all comes down to sustainment and MRO– because MRO is such a huge priority for the nation right now and building that capability. Again, nowhere have we indigenised the P-8 for MRO more than we have done in India. I think that is a very sound story there. And so I think the question is how does that indigenisation story play as we move forward with the P-8, and clearly that need is there,” Mr. Gupte said before signing off.
