Hurray! its a milestone in defence production.

[Indian]

india quietly joined the big leage.India made aviation history by concluding a USD 51 million deal with the South American Republic of Ecuador for the sale of seven 'Dhruv' Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH).
The deal signed between Ecuador Aviation Authority and bluechip state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) envisages the supply of seven helicopters in semi knock-down conditions to the Republic in a time-frame of 15 months to two years, defence ministry officials said.

With this, India has joined a select group of nations with a capability to bid for international contracts for choppers. So far, the helicopter market has been dominated by US, European companies and Russia.

The ALH 'Dhruv' has been making waves in international air shows worldover from the past two years but international sales of the helicopter have eluded HAL.

HAL came very near bagging its first international order when it bid for the Chilean armed forces contract two years ago, but was beaten to the closing line by the US competitors.

in my opinion.........
it is a small but very important begining. defence production in itself can sustain a country's economy. look at france which sustains on defence production and tourism. in our country, both these fields are under exploited. so cheers!

[Sourav]

Rightly said. Defense is a very important field where not only we can save billions, but can also earn billions. We need big investment in the field of defense, and more importantly, in the defense research. Initially India will take some time probably to gain the market credibility since we are newbies here, but with time and with large groups like Tata and Reliance getting interested in defense, I'm sure we will be more and more competitive in the international market, as we are in the space field today.

I was reading that 23 private manufacturers have been short listed for manufacturing defence equipment in the country to export to friendly countries. I would love to see our companies are investing in research and developing more and more product like Brahmos (something where we won't make an existing product, but will invent technologies and open new frontiers that are yet to be with other countries).

A couple of interesting articles:
India's Defense Sector Set for Steep Growth
Indian Navy Invites Private Sector to Participate
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