Tata, Boeing JV on defence-related aerospace components

New Delhi, Feb 14 (UNI) Tata Industries today entered into an agreement with Boeing to produce defence-related aerospace components for the American aviation major.

The joint venture company would be set up by June this year, and shortly thereafter would begin work, a joint statement said.

Tata would initially produce more than 500 million dollars of components in India for export to Boeing and its international customers, the statement added.

In the first phase of the agreement, Boeing would potentially issue contracts for work packages to the JV company to manufacture components for Boeing's F/A-18 Super Hornet for the US Navy and Royal Australian Air Force, CH-47 Chinook and P-8 Maritime Patrol Aircraft.

Manufacturing capabilities established within the joint venture would in later phases be leveraged across multiple Boeing programmes, including the Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) competition.

A research and development centre for advanced manufacturing technologies is also being planned, the statement said.

''The joint venture between Tata and Boeing is an important part of our strategy to build capabilities in defence and aerospace,'' Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata said. ''I look forward to the joint venture becoming a world-class facility in India.'' Boeing Integrated Defense System CEO Jim Albaugh said, ''It represents another step in our commitment to India, in this case by linking the capabilities and heritages of these two companies, in order to bring real and lasting value to India's aerospace industry, while making Boeing products more globally competitive.'' It is the intent of Boeing and Tata to use not only Tata's existing manufacturing capability but also to develop new supply sources throughout the Indian manufacturing and engineering communities for both commercial and defence applications, the statement said.

Recently, TAL Manufacturing Solutions, a subsidiary of Tata Motors, entered into an agreement with Boeing to produce structural components for 787 Dreamliner.

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