2ndUPDATE: BAE, Rolls-Royce Get Over GBP700 Mln India Deal For Hawk Jets, Engines

28th Jul 2010 12:35

(Adds comments of British prime minister) By Dhanya Ann Thoppil and Santanu Choudhury Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES BANGALORE (Dow Jones)--BAE Systems PLC (BAESY) and Rolls-Royce Group PLC (RYCEY) Wednesday received separate contracts valued at a combined more than GBP700 million to supply 57 Hawk advanced jet trainers and their engines to India. The Hawk jets will be assembled by India's state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. at its facility in the country's technology hub of Bangalore. BAE will receive more than GBP500 million for supplying the 57 jets, while Rolls-Royce will get up to GBP200 million for supplying the Mk871 variant of its Adour engines, the two companies said. The deal will support more than 200 jobs in the U.K. "We have given a permanent license to HAL to build the Hawk," Andrew Gallagher, managing director and chief executive of BAE Systems in India, told reporters. BAE said it will provide "specialist engineering services, the raw materials and equipment necessary for airframe production, and the support package for the Indian Air Force and Indian Navy..." India is buying the 57 twin-seater jets to better train pilots at its air force and navy for flying supersonic combat jets such as the Sukhoi-30MKI and Jaguar. Of the total, 17 jets will be operated by the navy and the remainder by the air force. India, one of the world's top importers of defense equipment, has allocated INR1.47 trillion as capital expenditure in the current fiscal year through March 31, up from INR1.42 trillion in the previous year. Wednesday's order follows a contract for 66 Hawk jets in 2004 for $1.45 billion for India's air force. British Prime Minister David Cameron, who was present at the event, said: "This is an outstanding example of India-U.K. defense and industrial partnership, and this agreement will bring significant economic benefits to both our countries." "It is evidence of our new, commercial foreign policy in action," he added. Cameron is on a two-day official visit to India, accompanied by six U.K. government ministers and a delegation of 58 leaders from the country, spanning fields such as business, sports, education, arts and culture and local government. The Hawk, which can also be used as a combat aircraft, can fly at a maximum speed of 1.2 times the speed of sound. More than 900 Hawk jets are currently in operation or have been ordered by 18 customers worldwide, according to BAE. "India is strategically important to Rolls-Royce and we will continue to look at new programmes that expand our partnership in the future," said Chris Awde, Rolls-Royce's sales and commercial director. Rolls-Royce's Adour Mk871 engine is a variant of the Adour Mk811 engine that currently powers the fleet of Jaguar fighter jets in the Indian Air Force. Awde said that using the Adour engine in the Hawk will bring benefits of commonality and savings as it is already used in the Jaguar jets. -By Dhanya Ann Thoppil and Santanu Choudhury, Dow Jones Newswires; +91-11-4356-3305; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 28, 2010 07:35 ET (11:35 GMT)