Bharat Forge Limited: Pune based artillery and defence equipment maker Bharat Forge Wednesday signed a pact with the US firm General Atomics to explore opportunities for development of power generation and storage solutions for Indian Navy. It will cover both surface and under-water fleet of the navy.
“We have been relentlessly working towards bringing niche technologies in the country with the aim of making India self-reliant in defence vertical,” said Baba Kalyani, chairman and managing director of Kalyani Group.
“The partnership with General Atomics is a firm step in the direction to develop new technologies in-house to produce benchmark products for naval systems,” he said adding that it will cut down the expenditure due to the country’s dependency on imports.
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San Diego based General Atomics specialises in the field of nuclear fission and nuclear fusion energy with its application in both the defence and energy sectors. The company is also engaged in the business of UAVs, including the Predator drones, airborne sensors, advanced electric, electronic, wireless, and laser technologies.
“We look forward to working with Bharat Forge to develop strategies for bringing advanced power, energy, and weapon system capabilities to India in support of Indian defence initiatives,” said Scott Forney, President of General Atomics’ Electromagnetic Systems Group (GA-EMS).
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Bharat Forge Limited (BFL) is primarily a forging company but in the last decade or so it has emerged a premier defence research and development company, particularly in the field of long range large caliber artillery guns and armoured vehicles.
It has also partnered with Israel’s Rafael for producing missiles and Bulgaria’s Arsenal for producing small arms like infantry rifles and light machine guns.
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