Imagine that......
Slurpees and Slim Jims
being sold at Mach 1
Posted on 08/20/2006 10:08:18 PM PDT by Srirangan
Lockheed Martin is holding a two-day aerospace and defence suppliers' conference in Bangalore, South India beginning Monday.
The company has been surveying potential relationships in India and sees great opportunity to add value to its product lines by working with the industry here.
"Lockheed Martin views the Indian Government's new offset policy as an opportunity to create 'win-win' relationships that can help deliver high quality products at affordable costs," it said.
The company said the two-day conference would seek to "establish inroads for commerce between its current supplier team and Indian companies that could provide parts and services for Lockheed Martin products."
The U.S.-based defence and aerospace giant Lockheed Martin intends to begin "putting meaningful work" in India independent from any sales contracts.
(Excerpt) Read more at india-defence.com ...
Can someone do the aviation ping? (I don't know how to use the ping feature of FR)
That's a smart move by contractors in the USA and India, IMO. More competition would be good, though, to bring defense costs down more.
Just ping Kevin Davis to the thread.
Not a good idea at all. We already are at the mercy of suppliers for certain electrical parts which may not be available in the future when we need them (e.g. China invades Taiwan and takes over the large number of electronics fabs there). This will make it worse. The problem is more in our legal system and how the FAR procurement rules work (or don't mostly), rather than on American productivity/costs. Outsourcing core competencies is foolish. Making our own arms is a core competency.
ping.
Essential industries should be kept at sustenance levels in the United States (such as for food, manufacturing, and defense).
I hope you mean industrial manufacturing, becuase retail manufacturing has been sold to China decades ago.
This move will help cut costs for LM and other companies. And thus might open the mid level defense market of developing countries to these companies.
This might indeed mean being able to win a share of the pie that Russia and China (selling Russian clones) currently dominate.
Developing countries do buy a lot of arms. ;-)
I'm not sure if its civilian or military but Boeing already gets aircraft parts made in India such as small parts that can be used on civilian passenger, transport planes but which also can be used ffor military transport, surveillance planes.
India will be a global air power in the far, far future. They have access to both our material and Russia's fighter tech. Their young, tech savvy population will feed an aerospace boom in the future I think.
Like Srirangan said, India will buy the products, too. Some fundamental ways of thinking in the majority of India are most similar to ours, and that will go a long way in cooperation. By getting tighter with India, we can also contribute to friendly incentives for people there to get further away from southwest European socialism, too (see "Sonia Gandhi"). That is...if we will show Indians that most of us are not like a small, Euro-phile minority that's pushing from the outside to change religion there.
I'm much more wary of China, and Sonia's friends should also stop making special deals for only one religious sect there.
All you non-aerospace guys need to re-read that bolded part in the quote and take a deep breath.
In defense contracting, an "offset" is a contractual requirement that the supplier spend a fraction (sometimes as much as 100%) of the contract's value in the country where the products are sold. Sometimes there are requirements that the offset has to be spent on high-tech products, and sometimes there are requirements that the offset be used on major components for the aircraft being purchased.
This is just business as usual, and most countries require offsets for defense or major civilian aircraft orders.
The offset's law here in Delhi was eased off by a significant margin. Plus if it actually cuts costs, companies would dig in anyway, regardless of an offset's law or not.
I don't see Pepsi India competing with Pepsi USA. Why would an hypothetical Boeing India compete with Boeing USA?
I doubt it, if at all such co-operation will put us on the same boat.
In the end of it, its pure economics. If yuo guys come to India, you'll reduce costs. If you reduces costs, new markets will open up, hence more profit if marketing department does its magic.
(note the date)
Now, missile companies heading for India
HUMA SIDDIQUI
Thursday, February 17, 2005
New Delhi, February 17: India is poised to become a key outsourcing hub for global aerospace and missile companies as it has cheap and skilled engineers on offer.
Talking to Financial Express, director (exports), of France-based MBDA missiles systems, Jean Luc Lamothe said, “India with its skill base and projected economic growth is the preferred partner nation for MBDA due to its unique potential of becoming a defence industrial hub in the region. As such, there are extensive opportunities for collaboration with Indian industry, combining the company’s technology and skills base in weapons design, testing and integration developed over the last 50 years.
The company has recently submitted proposals for potential areas of joint technology research during discussions with Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), said Mati Hindrekus, official spokesman of MBDA.
He added, “on one hand we will benefit from Indian software skills and the country’s lower cost base. On the other India will gain access to the world’s most advanced guided missile technology, which will give the nation a much greater degree of autonomy in developing its current and long term defence capabilities.”
http://www.expressindia.com/
Thank you for the synopsis. And I agree, except for one thing--US job losses. I'll soon compete with Indians for work (and work with them) and don't need $65,000-$100,000 USD for pay.
On the "propaganda," hopefully, many Indians see through it and will go more conservative. Could the BJP get along well with the USA, if we give as much respect as we get?
BJP is seen to be more pro USA and pro Israel. Congress has a huge socialistic history. And the commies are commies and the jehad lovers are pigs.
The BJP as I understand, is an Indianized version of the Republican party..at least as far as the fundamentals go.
...agreed.
I agree that you must object "if and when India competes with the US"
But we are a democracy too and unlike China, the Indian government is beginning to divest all the state-owned companies slowly. It may never come to an India vs USA. At best, it will be Indian private companies against American private companies. Indians and Americans are and will be allies for a looong looong time. Indian companies however will always try to compete in the market with whatever they can. Business as usual. :)
Sure is. The VHP, BJP's parent actually pushed the then BJP government to go into Iraq. The popular opinion was against it and so it backed off. In any country, the Reds(commies) and the Greens(muslims) are the loudest lot.
RSS, not VHP, is BJP's "parent".
Semiconductors are a commodity, and the U.S. semiconductor industry is fine in spite of it.
Mea culpa. Thanks for the correction.
Although they do belong to the same umbrella so to speak.
F-16's to India, I highly doubt that. F-18's are a greater possibility, that too for the Navy.
It's highly unlikely that the Indian navy will buy the SuperHornet for it's carriers.It's just too big & would need considerable modification for a ski-jump takeoff,not to mention it's costs.
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