Foreseeing India as its largest growth market globally in the next five years, Massachusetts-based US defence major Raytheon has said that it is ready to introduce to the country its frontline weapons systems.
Hinting that no hiccups were expected in the transfer of top-of-the-shelf weapons technology to India, Admiral (Retd) Walter F Doran, president of the company for Asia Sales, said, "Raytheon wants to introduce American missiles, space systems and other frontline technologies to Indian armed forces."
"The present business of the company in India is around $30 million but in the next five years, we foresee India as our largest growth market," Doran said in New Delhi.
Though he refused to quantify it in dollar terms, the figures could easily climb into billions, according to market experts.
Indian armed forces are currently armed with mostly Russian weapon technology with some hardware and weapons platforms inducted from France, Israel and UK, but according to Doran, the American armament companies, though late entrant want to make the Indian defence market more competitive and technology-oriented.
The company's lethal wares include wide range of missiles ranging from Patriot II missile shield, Slamraam missiles for cruise missiles interception to best seller air missiles like AMRAAM advanced medium range air-to-air missiles and AIM-9M sidewinder air-to-air missiles with a record of having never missed a kill.
Raytheon recently supplied sidewinder and AMRAAM air-to-air missiles to Pakistan worth $280 million, arming the country for the first time with beyond visual range combat capability.
Asked if the huge sales would not cloud the company's sales bid in India, Doran said the sales were conducted on Government-to-Government basis and Raytheon had no say in it.
"It was a sale under FMS and Pentagon supplied the missiles from their stockpiles," he said. Sidewinders and AMRAAM are the main weapons of the F-16 fighting falcons, fresh sales of which were recently cleared by the Bush administration.
Doran, the former Commander in Chief of the US Pacific Command said Raytheon was closely following the issue of international tenders by India for the purchase of 126 medium range combat aircraft.
Two major US fighter manufacturers -- Lockheed-Martin and Boeing -- are among the six companies in the run for the contract, which would be the biggest tender ever floated by India.
Raytheon are the main mission system integrators for both Lockheed's F-16's and Boeing F-18/A hornets as well as their main armament providers, including all air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles and precision bombs.
On board the Hornets, Raytheon have installed the revolutionary AESA technology. Active electronically scanned arrays give the fighter pilots a unique advantage of launching simultaneously air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons. It also provides fighter pilots multi-target search and track capability as also means to give them greater situational awareness.
Raytheon executive said that fears that Pentagon might block the transfer of AESA technology were baseless as the company was ready to these radars to India.
He said international sales currently accounted for 18 per cent of the company's annual revenue approximately $23 billion. "We expect this to rise to 25 per cent by 2011."
On their presence in India, Doran said Raytheon had made sales to Indian companies of its Beechcraft and Hawker aircraft, installed new Air Traffic management systems in New Delhi and Mumbai airports, and provided GPS and Geosynchronous augmentation system for Indian satellites.
"Our sensors will arm India's first lunar orbiting satellite Chandrayaan-1," Doran said. He added that recently Raytheron had supplied Paveway laser guided bomb kits to the IAF.
