“Our heartiest congratulations to the Indian Air Force on the 90th Air Force Day! BAE Systems is honoured to have been a close partner of the Indian Air Force for the last seven decades and is proud to have contributed to its modernization. From being a core contributor in the establishment of the Air Force Technical College in 1949 to providing advanced training to young IAF pilots on our Hawk Mk132 trainer – BAE Systems has always been committed to strengthening the Indian Air Force’s expertise and capabilities. Our vision and mission also align with the Government’s ambitions of Atmanirbhar Bharat (Self-Reliant India) and ‘Make in India’. The world-class manufacturing facility we established for the Hawk India programme in partnership with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) demonstrates the success of Make in India in defence manufacturing. Today, Hawk has exceeded 100,000 flying hours with the Indian Air Force and Indian Navy, and I wish it to achieve many more such milestones.
We are proud of our in-country presence and the robust partnerships we have created with the local industry which include HAL and Mahindra Defence Systems Ltd as well as several MSMEs and SMEs that are now a part of our growing supply chain. With the strategy of ‘co-creating for a self-reliant India’, BAE Systems looks forward to further partnering with DRDO and local industry for strengthening the Indian Armed Forces capabilities and supporting them in their upgradation and modernization journey towards Modern Fighter Aircrafts.”
—Ravi Nirgudkar, Managing Director – India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, BAE Systems
