The Hindu Business Line : HAL bags $5-m deal at Asian aerospace meet

HINDUSTAN Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) and Bell Helicopter, an internationally known company, have agreed to finalise a $5-million deal on the sidelines of `Asian Aerospace 2004', a six-day technology exhibition and air-show, which concluded in Singapore last week.

The `trial order', bagged by the HAL, is for the supply of tail rotor blades for Bell-206 helicopter. The HAL Chairman, N.R. Mohanty, said: ``It is a good order, and the value of the order is more than $ 5 millions. It is just the beginning.'' He recounted that the Bell Chief Executive, Mr Mike Redenbaugh, had indicated, during their meeting here, a sense of satisfaction over the ``quality'' of HAL's work in this field and ``the competitive price''. Bell reckoned that a further expansion of commercial ``collaboration'' with HAL was possible on the basis of the latest move for a ``contract''.

At the exhibition here, the Israeli aeronautical industry began to look at Indian capabilities. Eurocopter of France wanted to explore the possibility of a joint venture with HAL, Mr Mohanty addedMr Joseph Varkey, Secretary General of the Society of Indian Aerospace Technologies & Industries, said 23 firms belonging to the organisation participated in the exhibition to explore the scope for joint venture projects involving international players and also for co-production units.

Trade enquiries generated here pertained to India's software skills as also capabilities in machining and the like.

BrahMos Aerospace, an Indo-Russian joint venture, was conspicuously present. Its Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Mr A. Sivathanu Pillai, said that an attempt had been made at this exhibition to project the possibility of developing an ``air-launched missile'' in the BrahMos category.

The exhibition and air show were organised by Asian Aerospace Pte Ltd, a joint-venture company of Reed Exhibitions and Singapore Technologies Aerospace Ltd. Trade deals, cumulatively worth about a ``record'' $ 3.52 billions, were struck at this exhibition, in addition to ``many other significant deals with undisclosed figures''. The comparable figure for the previous show in 2002 was $ 3.2 billions, it was said.