Admiral (Retd) Walter F. Doran - President, Raytheon Asia

How do you perceive the growth of Aero India since its inception?

Over the years, Aero India has grown in both the number of companies that participate and the extent of that participation. Raytheon was very pleased with this year’s show and are proud of our continued presence in India.

Raytheon is proposing some of the very key air defence programmes i.e. Patriot and Hawk, for instance. What response could you garner during the show?

Senior Ministry of Defence and military officials have expressed interest in Raytheon’s offerings in this area, so that is encouraging. Air-missile defense is an area where Raytheon has broad capabilities in radar, interceptors and integration work. And that’s just one area where we are working with the India government.

When do you think India’s much talked about MMRCA programme will get finalised? What all involvements does Raytheon enjoy in this upcoming mega deal of India?

We are confident the Ministry of Defence will make their decision known at the appropriate time. We are, of course, watching the competition closely. Raytheon has significant presence on both U.S. aircraft, the F/A-18IN and the F-16IN. The company is a leading maker of missiles, radar and electronic warfare system, so our involvement would be around those areas.

Raytheon does have various equipment onboard P-8I which has recently selected by Indian Navy. Please can you give some details on this front?

Raytheon is providing the maritime surveillance radar for the P-8I. The aircraft can also fire our MK 54 light-weight torpedo. Boeing is, of course, the lead on this aircraft and could provide additional information.

Can you give a glimpse of what expertise Raytheon showcased during this 7th edition of Aero India?

Raytheon is a defense-technology company that designs and develops solutions that are platform-agnostic. That means our products and capabilities aren’t dependent on one platform over another, providing a flexibility that customers seem to find very attractive. With that in mind, Raytheon showcased its broad capabilities at Aero India, including its systems related to the MMRCA competition; homeland security; air & missile defence; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; as well as multi-mission maritime systems.

What kinds of responses did Raytheon get to its presence at the show?

It was great. We received visits from senior Ministry of Defence and military officials. We’ve long said that we are in India for the long haul, and every interaction like this is key to establishing long-term trusted partnerships. We have a lot of things already going on in India, including discussions on the GAGAN commercial satellite-navigation system, network-centric operations for the Indian Navy, and air-missile defence. We also have received a request for proposals for a high-altitude ISR platform.

Can you give some details on any tie-up/ joint-venture/ MoU that would have been concluded during the show?

As you know, Raytheon has been signing agreements with numerous Indian partners as we solidify our ties in this country. Though we did not sign up any new arrangements at the show, we already have nearly 10 partnership agreements/MOUs with Indian companies.

Have you specifically concluded any new arrangement on offset partner during the show and if so in the context of which particular potential deal?

As above, we have not signed up for any new arrangements at the Show.

How satisfied do you feel with the outcome of participation at Aero India and please advise if there is any message for the organisers.

We are very excited and satisfied with our participation at Aero India 2009. There is always scope for improvement. Organisers can focus on creating more convenient environment for the participants, including setting up a camp office within each hall for the displaying companies. But overall, we are very pleased.