DefExpo 2020 will be an opportunity for domestic defence companies to prove their might to woo foreign firms

• The DefExpo kicks off tomorrow and it will be teaming with 1,000 companies from 40 countries around the world.
  
• It will be an opportunity for domestic firms to find international partners to boost their technological capabilities.
  
• According to Sameer Patil, an international security expert with GatewayHouse, India’s Armed Forces prefer to import equipment because domestic products either don’t meet their requirement or are of inferior quality.
  

As DefExpo 2020 is all set to kick off tomorrow, the many foreign players who will arrive for it, will bank on Indian love for imported equipment. Despite the push for ‘Make in India’, Indian Armed Forces prefer to purchase high-quality products from global majors.

“The DefExpo 2020 would provide a unique platform for defence industry OEMs, exhibitors and private industry to display their latest innovations and capabilities,” said defence minister Rajnath Singh.

According to him, over 1,000 companies from 40 different countries are scheduled to be present at the five-day event. However, the theme of the event is ‘Digital Transformation of Defence’ — an area where domestic firms don’t excel.

“We have defence industrial capacity but our defence industrial capacity is not geared towards high-tech items but low-tech items, which doesn’t require complex expertise,” Sameer Patil, an international security expert with Mumbai-based think tank Gateway House told Business Insider India.

An opportunity for foreign players to bag big deals
India’s short-term requirements are mostly off-the-shelf items that foreign defence firms are already producing. The Armed Forces don’t favour picking up these items at home because homegrown products normally don’t live up to the hype.

“The armed forces are saying that they would prefer imports rather than rely on the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to develop the equipment because sometimes it's of inferior quality and sometimes it doesn’t meet the requirements of the Armed Forces,” explained Patil.

For instance, the Navy rejected the Naval Light Combat Aircraft — or Tejas — developed by the DRDO and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) because it was ‘overweight’. It’s size made it difficult to operate the aircraft from a carrier.

However, the Tejas took nearly four decades to make in India. Regardless of the rejection, HAL is pursuing the project.

The government’s military equipment manufacturing arm also saw tough times when the Dhruv helicopter crash instigated return-and-refund requests from Ecuador and the Maldives.

The Navy also wanted an upgrade over the Dhruv helicopter. It applied to buy new naval utility helicopters with foldable rotor blades. However, HAL argued that its own design was robust enough and that it could develop foldable blades on its own over the next two to three years.

An opportunity for domestic firms to tie up with foreign players
When HAL first partnered with United Aircraft Corporation to manufacture the Sukhoi Su-57, the government expected a transfer of technology. “But because there was no planning or management culture in defence at that time, no one bothered to absorb those technical skills,” explained Patil.

However, history is trying to correct itself. Tata, for example, already has a tie-up with Lockheed Martin to build F-16 wings and the F-21 fighter jet. Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Larsen & Toubro (L&T) have also signed a pact to develop and manufacture defence products.

“Because the private sector is more efficient, there is an expectation that they will absorb those tech skills. Given a chance, they can come up with indigenous equipment,” said Patil.

However, defence indigenisation doesn’t happen overnight. According to Patil, it takes at least two decades to get the ball rolling and see visible results. Its realisation will mean catering to India’s medium and long term requirements for weaponry that isn’t available off the shelf — like robotic technologies.

See also:
DefExpo 2020 will have France, Russia, South Korea, Israel, US, and African countries wooing India’s defence sector for partnerships

India will be picking up AI-enabled military tech from South Korea at the DefExpo 2020