Gene Blackwell, Vice President, Network Centric Systems, Raytheon

India has always been very important for us at Raytheon. We are interested in a strong partnership with India. In the wake of 26/11, we feel we have a lot to offer. We are talking with some companies and the Tata Power Consortium. We hope to sign a MoU with the latter for modernisation of the IAF (Indian Air Force). We also hope that an RFP will be asked for an Air Traffic Control Radar System by November. Some of these could also be in C2 and communications, fire control system, thermal weapon systems and navigation systems.

These upgrades, both in critical infrastructure protection and air traffic control, we hope will be for both the civil and military. We are interacting with the DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) and Ministry of Civil Aviation, but there is still some time before they come to a decision. Integrated Security System for airports is already working in the US. We will be trying to develop it for India.

We have a very good relationship with ISRO. We have already submitted a bid to them for FOP to deliver the world’s most accurate air navigation system ever deployed. We feel we are very close to reaching an agreement. We also plan to upgrade the ATP Q36 radar to 37, with marked improvements. GAGAN and SATCOM are our hopes in space technology partnerships with India.