Hyderabad tech puts aerospace, defence manufacturing in new orbit

HYDERABAD: Not many would be aware that the cabin of the Sikorsky S-92 chopper that ferries the US President Barack Obama is made in Hyderabad, as also some crucial components powering Isro's inter-planetary craft to Mars, Mangalyaan.

When Andhra Pradesh lost the Tata Nano project in 2008, it came as a blessing in disguise for the state. Hyderabad's aerospace and defence manufacturing sectors were propelled into a new orbit as Ratan Tata promised the government that he would park a project no less prestigious in the state.

Tata kept his promise, and that's how Tata Advanced Systems Ltd set up its facility at India's first aerospace SEZ at Adibatla on Hyderabad's outskirts - putting the city on the global defence and aerospace map through joint ventures with Lockheed Martin and Sikorsky of US, and Swiss player RUAG investing, over Rs 4,000 crore.




Today, Hyderabad's second wave of investments in this sector have made it the biggest challenger to Bengaluru's supremacy in aerospace and defence sectors.

While Bangalore emerged as aeronautics hub thanks to HAL (which has a small presence in Hyderabad), Hyderabad has a stronger missile base. Its foundation was laid after the 1962 Sino-Indian border war when premier institutes like Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL) and Research Center Imarat (RCI), among others, were set up in the city, considered "safe" for its distance from the country's then troubled borders.

"Small and medium enterprises making components for these defence institutions have now started building sub-systems as well as systems for them. These institutions have also ensured a steady flow of talent for the sector which requires highly-skilled manpower," said G Satheesh Reddy, scientific adviser to the defence minister. Over 70% of components for Akash missiles too are being sourced from Hyderabad SMEs, Reddy added.

In fact, Hyderabad's strong base of over 1,000 SMEs coupled with IT firms catering to the aerospace segment have proved to be a major draw for global aerospace giants. This is also what perhaps prompted Boeing to bet on Hyderabad in partnership with the Tatas.

"Hyderabad's strategic advantages are its emerging industrial base, infrastructure and availability of skilled manpower," said Boeing India president Pratyush Kumar. "All these are critical to develop a competitive aerospace and defence base, and we took this into consideration while signing a framework agreement with TASL to collaborate in aerospace and defence, including UAVs," Kumar added.

Boeing is currently working with Hyderabad-based Avantel on mobile satellite systems for the P-8I military aircraft and Cyient Ltd (formerly Infotech Enterprises) for many of its commercial airplane projects.

This ecosystem is also giving wings to the multi-billion dollar maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) sector in the city. In May 2015, Air India set up its Rs 80-crore MRO at the Hyderabad International Airport, even as the 250-acre GMR Aerospace Park SEZ housing GMR's MRO Facility services narrow bodied aircraft like Airbus A 320 and Boeing 737, among others.

"Hyderabad is important also from the maintenance perspective as it has been a base maintenance station of erstwhile Indian Airlines from very early days," said HR Jagannath, CEO, Air India Engineering Services Limited (AIESL).

"The required manpower and higher level of tools, equipment, processes and systems necessary to carry out higher level checks on the aircraft were already available. Hyderabad is now being seen as a major maintenance hub for captive work load of Air India as well as third party business," Jagannath added.

Now, US-based Pratt & Whitney is gearing up to launch its third global centre after US and China for training aircraft engineers and technicians near Hyderabad airport.

To keep the sector cruising, the Telangana government is not only setting up the state's second aerospace park spread over 1,000 acres at Elimenidu on Hyderabad's outskirts, but is also giving finishing touches to an aerospace policy to be announced in November, said Telangana IT secretary Jayesh Ranjan.

Investments in Hyderabad have made it the biggest challenger to Bengaluru in defence and aerospace sectors.