Lockheed Martin has recently announced the establishment of Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) with three Indian Start-ups. The MOUs pave the way for Terero Mobility, Sastra Robotics, and NoPo Nanotechnologies, graduates of the India Innovation Growth Programme (IIGP), to integrate with Lockheed Martin's supply chain, and contribute to the evolution of both the Indian and global aerospace & defence industry. According to Vivek Lall, Vice President for Strategy and Business Development at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, "The agreements entered into today attest to the commitment of Lockheed Martin to cultivate and integrate indigenous content into global systems and platforms. Through these agreements, we look to provide engineering support, mentoring, and assistance in the qualification of some of the technologies proposed, all of which contribute to our mission of making in India," said Phil Shaw, Chief Executive of Lockheed Martin in India. "We are delighted to have identified, through the IIGP, three inspiring start-ups that we perceive potential to collaborate with on a global scale. We envision our intended partnership with them to enhance the platforms and programs we're developing, especially the solutions we wish to offer India."
Details of the three MOUs are as follows:
Lockheed Martin expects to provide Terero Mobility with a scope of work for design development, test and qualification of the Cargo Ground Buildup System (CGBS) for Fixed and Rotary wing aircraft. A product originally developed through a Lockheed Martin sponsored University R&D project at IIT Madras, this vehicle will enable the handling of cargo delivered by transport aircraft at austere locations. Lockheed Martin will provide system engineering support and mentoring to Terero Mobility to enable them to develop and deliver a vehicle that is capable of transport by C-130 and similar platforms.
Lockheed Martin expects to provide NoPo Nanotechnologies with a Scope of Work for qualification of As-Produced, Purified and Metallic Sorted HiPCO® Carbon Nanotubes to provide electromagnetic interference and lightning protection. Successful qualification of NoPo HiPCOTM Carbon Nanotubes based composite would enable the company to be a supplier to Lockheed Martin and other Tier-1 OEMs.
Lockheed Martin expects to provide Sastra Robotics with a scope of work for qualification of robots produced by the company for Avionics testing. Successful qualification would enable Sastra Robotics to be a supplier to Lockheed Martin and other Tier-1 OEMs. These products can help in the testing of avionics display of tactical fighter platforms including the F-21. Present in India for around three decades, Lockheed Martin is committed to bring additional capability to Indian industry, and fully supports the national "Make in India", "Skills India", "Startup India" and "Swachh Bharat" missions. Through our efforts and investments in significant ventures in the last ten years alone, we have and continue to contribute to: the up-skilling and employment of thousands of people; manufacture of major structures and components for the C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft and S-92® multi-role helicopter which are in service globally; multimillion dollar exports from our facilities in Hyderabad; and integration of India into Lockheed Martin's global aerospace supply chain. Our co-founding of the India Innovation Growth Program (IIGP) further underscores our belief in Indian talent, industry, and progress.
