New Delhi: US defence major Raytheon and
Indian private player Larsen and Toubro (L&T) on Tuesday announced
that they were teaming up to submit a proposal this month to
upgrade Indian's Army's vintage T-72 battle tanks.
The tie-up was announced on the second day of the
four-day DefExpo held here since Monday.
Under the proposal, Raytheon, which has already provided
20,000 thermal sights in 15 countries, is set to arrange
infrared imaging sights and gadgets which would greatly
improve target accuracy and increase overall system lethality
on the battlefield for the Indian Army's T-72 tank regiments.
Army has in operation about 1,600 T-72 tanks.
"Through collaboration with L&T on this important proposal
for the Indian Army, we have confirmed the very complementary
capabilities leveraged across our companies," said Raytheon
Network Centric Systems India Operations head Fritz Treyz.
"Together, we are exploring other opportunities to provide
defense solutions to meet growing demands in India and the
global marketplace," he added in a statement.
L&T would provide fire control system and sensors, and
would accomplish the final integration of all the upgraded
systems along with the customer support in India. It has
expertise in development of fire control across multiple
weapon systems on land, naval and air defence applications.
"L&T is leading the T-72 tank upgrade programme. The two
companies have a combination to deliver," the company's Senior
Executive Vice President M V Kotwal said, adding that the T-72
upgrade programme would lead to new avenues in Indian and
global defence markets for both the partners.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, February 16, 2010, 21:34