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NEW DELHI, Feb. 18 (UPI) -- Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. announced plans to manufacture Black Hawk helicopters in India and is eyeing defense deals worth $8 billion-$12 billion. A unit of United Technologies, the U.S. helicopter maker said it was in talks with a string of Indian companies to build Black Hawks.
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"We will bring the Black Hawk here with the option to improve the horse power ...," Sikorsky Vice President Steve Estill said, adding that the additional power was being introduced to operate the helicopter between 14,000 and 15,000 feet.
"We will bring the concept here, we will team for the development program with local industry, team to develop the prototype here and present that as tailor-made for India," Estill told reporters on the sidelines of Def Expo 2010.
The executive said among the companies being talked to about the venture include the Tata group, with which Sikorsky has a joint venture producing cabins for the S-92 helicopter and aerospace parts at Hyderabad, in southern India.
It is understood that the Black Hawk production would be based in Hyderabad. The military chopper is produced in countries including South Korea, Turkey, Japan and Taiwan.
Sikorsky is just one of a rash of global defense companies vying for alliances with Indian companies as they try to meet the country's regulations for defense contracts, analysts explain.
Under existing regulations, the winner bid of a defense bid valued more than $62 million is required to seek local partnerships for the project. The policy was drafted to boost the country's fledgling military industry.
India's defense budget is slated at $23.4 billion for the year to March 31, about 25 percent more than the previous year. It has also earmarked $562 million to bolster border security and police forces.
"We are committed to approach the Indian market from the same view point as we approach the U.S. government market," Estill said. "We think it is that important.
"What that means is we stack our resources. We localize manufacturing, we localize research and development, we localize support and we work to develop exports for the products that we design here," he told reporters.
The executive confirmed that Sikorsky was vying for defense contracts, which as estimated to total $8 billion-$12 billion by 2018.
Among the proposed deals, Sikorsky has said it will lease 20 helicopters to the coast guard. It has also offered its S-70B Seahawk and MH-60R choppers for the Indian navy.
