Dr Vivek Lall, Boeing IDS India Country Head, talks to SP’s Aviation on the company’s strategies and collaborations to capture the Indian market.

SP’s: What is the company profile of Boeing Integrated Defense Systems (IDS)?

Dr Vivek Lall: A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing IDS (www.boeing.com/ids/) is one of the world’s largest space and defence businesses. IDS operates in India as part of Boeing India, which has a New Delhi office staffed with 14 employees. Countrywide, there are approximately 30 Boeing employees.

Boeing IDS has a rich portfolio of products and services to offer India, such as the combat-proven F/A 18 E/F Super Hornet multi-role combat fighter, the P-8I multi-mission maritime patrol aircraft, the heavy lift CH-47F and MH-47G heavy-lift Chinook helicopters, and the combat-proven attack helicopter, the AH-64D Apache Longbow. The IDS portfolio extends to the C-17 Globemaster III strategic lift cargo plane, and C4ISR platforms and Airborne Early Warning & Control Systems. IDS is also a leading provider of aerospace support systems and network-centric operations that have high relevance to India’s requirements. The US Navy and Boeing have offered the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet to the Indian Air Force for the Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) competition. India has a requirement for 126 fighters. Boeing also has offered the Indian Navy the P-8I—an unique variant of the US Navy’s P-8A Poseidon—for India’s long-range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare competition.

The US Navy and Boeing believe the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet would be a valuable asset to India. Boeing has delivered more than 340 F/A-18E/F Super Hornets to the US Navy on time or ahead of schedule. The capability and reliability of the Super Hornet are among the reasons the US Navy is considering a new multi-year purchase. Internationally, Australia in 2007 became the first non-US customer for the Super Hornet, announcing its intent to purchase 24 F/A-18Fs to bolster its air force currently flying F/A-18 Hornets. Boeing is in discussions with Japan to provide the Super Hornet for their F-X requirement and is responding to an RFP from Switzerland. We continue discussions with numerous other foreign governments and military institutions about their interests in procuring the Super Hornet. The F/A-18 Super Hornet offers India the most advanced see-all, do-all multi-role combat fighter in production today, capable of defending the nation from the Himalayas to the Indian Ocean with unmatched lethality, pilot safety and the promise of more than 30 years of US Navy-funded upgrades.