Commodore A Madhavarao (Retd.), Chairman and Managing Director, of Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) at EDEX 2023
India, which has a longstanding relationship with Egypt, is aiming big at EDEX 2023 as the plan is to ensure comprehensive growth in the Egyptian defence sector in a phased manner. The Indian Pavilion is offering a comprehensive solution to the defence sector of Egypt. The Indian pavilion, which consists of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Bharat Dynamics Limited, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Limited (AWIEL), Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL), India Optel Limited (IOL) and Armoured Vehicles Nigam Limited (AVNL)
Commodore A Madhavarao (Retd.), Chairman and Managing Director, of Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL), who is leading the Indian delegation at EDEX, said that India and Egypt has a lot of products, especially Soviet-origin weapons and defence systems, in common and Indian companies could provide a lot of defence services to the Egyptian armed forces in maintaining those.
“India sees huge potential in Egypt as the country is a gateway to Africa. A strong defence relationship with Egypt will help India to expand its business in the African nations. We are offering a collective and comprehensive package of products and services across various domains and defence technologies to the Egyptian Armed Forces to modernize their inventory, armoury, arsenal, technology etc,” Madhavarao said.
All the seven government-run companies along with DRDO at the Indian pavilion are offering their best at EDEX. While BEL presents electronic and surveillance products in defence, anti drone systems, MDL is aiming at the Egyptian warship industry. HAL is exploring the possibilities of the export of Light Combat Aircraft Tejas, Advanced Light Helicopter Dhruv and the Light Combat Helicopter Prachand. AWIEL, AVNL and India Optel are also present the best from their respective sectors.
At the expo, BDL is mainly focusing on pushing its Air Defence Systems to the Egyptian armed forces. The mainstay of BDL’s Air Defence Systems is the Akash system and a team from Egyptian Air Defence will be visiting the BDL later this month to witness a live firing demo with the Indian Air Force. BDL has tied up with the Indian Air Force for the demo.
“We also focus on refurbishments of old Egyptian missiles. We offer our Air-to-Air missile Astra, Air-to-Ground missile Smart Anti-Airfield Weapon (SAAW) and Air-to-Surface missile Helina, which can be fired from helicopters,” Madhavarao said.
