City to be hub for naval warfare systems soon
The JV aims at expanding the portfolio of Mahindra's already existing Naval Systems Facility towards developing critical and sophisticated naval systems.
In an exclusive interview with The Indian Express, Brigadier (retd) Khutub Hai, chief executive, Mahindra Defence Systems said, "The Naval Systems Facility is a separate company, fully owned subsidy of Mahindra. We have been looking around for an international partner for a strategic venture in naval systems. Last year, we finalised the talks with Rafael. The MoU was signed in March. We have applied to the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) for approval which should materialise in about a couple of weeks. Rafael will invest 26 per cent of the initial investment and then it will be a JV."
The JV is expected to expand the existing portfolio of the Naval Systems Facility from sea mines and the company's legacy - Anti Torpedo Defence System (ATDS) - to more sophisticated ATDS for submarine and surface ship besides electronic warfare (EW) systems. "It is a high-technology driven system and requirements are likely to come
