Bharat Forge, Paramount Group sign MoU for production of medium-lift helicopter systems

Source : The Indian Express

(L to R) Amit Kalyani (Deputy Managing Director, Bharat Forge Ltd.), Guru Biswal (CEO - Aerospace Business Division - Bharat Forge), Clifford Dewell (SVP, Paramount Group).

PUNE-headquartered engineering major Bharat Forge Limited and global aerospace and technology company Paramount Group signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop and produce composite rotor blades, mission systems and store management systems for medium-lift helicopters at Aero India in Bengaluru Wednesday.

The MoU was signed by Guru Biswal, chief executive officer of the aerospace division of Bharat Forge, and Clifford Dewell, senior vice-president of Paramount Group, in the presence of senior officials from both companies.

A press release quoted Biswal as saying, “This MoU with Paramount is a testimony of our commitment to work for an Atmanirbhar Bharat, to create technologies that are niche and shall support Indian and Global requirements. This collaboration will focus on creating the Centre of Excellence for design, development and manufacture of Composite Rotor Blades, Mission Systems and Stores Management systems for Rotary Wing platforms, in India. This design and manufacturing hub shall support all future programs for both India and across the globe.”

Paramount’s Clifford Dewell stated, “Our global partnership with Bharat Forge has grown from strength to strength over the last few years. We are excited to expand our collaboration into the aerospace sector. We have confidence that this initiative will leverage the unique synergies of our joint capabilities to meet the requirements for these systems for Medium Lift Helicopters in India and across the globe.”

With India’s first indigenous dedicated attack helicopter Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) reaching the induction phase in October last year, all eyes are currently on the indigenous development of medium-lift category helicopters in the country to replace the fleets of Air Force’s workhorse Mi-17 and other helicopters with the Indian armed forces which will start phasing out over coming decade.

On March 11 last year, the Ministry of Defence identified 18 major strategic platforms for industry-led design and development in the country. The list includes the medium-lift Indian multirole helicopter (IMRH) under the special purpose vehicle (SPV) model. Under this route, private industries will be encouraged to take up the design and development of the platform in collaboration with various government organisations.