Big boost for India’s defence preparedness as BEL inks MoU with French major Sagem

IN A major boost for Indian armed forces, defence PSU Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) has inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with French defence major Sagem Défense Sécurité. The MoU will help explore co-operation in the production and supply of navigational sensors such as...

periscope, inertial navigational system and optronic mast to the Indian Navy for its various platforms under consideration for future induction, says a government press release. The MoU was signed at the BEL stall at DefExpo-2014 in Greater Noida by PC Jain, director (marketing), BEL, and Bruno Even, CEO, Sagem, France. The MoU will go a long way in catering to the needs of Indian Navy’s ambitious plans of inducting ships and submarines into the service. Accordingly, naval platforms have large-scale requirement of sensors such as SIGMA–40, ring laser gyro, optronic mast, attack periscope and radar mast for submarines.

Sagem Défense Sécurité has the technology and expertise in the manufacture of these sensors.

BEL is the leader in the manufacture and supply of defence electronics for the Indian Armed Forces. BEL and Sagem coming together to co-operate in the field of navigational sensors for ships and submarines will help in meeting the needs of the Indian Navy. The MoU will help in understanding and absorbing the critical technology adopted in these sensors for use in future induction platforms of the Navy. The MoU will facilitate BEL and Sagem to work together for 24 months and if considered necessary, the same can be extended to a further period agreeable to both the companies.

BEL primarily manufactures advanced electronic products for the Indian Armed Forces and is one of the eight PSUs under ministry of defence.

Sagem, a Safran hi-tech company, is a global leader in optronics, avionics, electronics and critical software for both civil and military markets. Sagem is the number one company in Europe and the third largest in the world for inertial navigation systems (INS) used in air, land and naval applications. It is also the world leader in helicopter flight controls and the European leader in optronics and tactical UAV systems.