First India Supplier Summit To Launch BAE Systems' DefExpo 2018 Participation

Signalling its continued commitment to and focus on 'Make in India', BAE Systems will host its first ever India Supplier Summit on 5^th April in New Delhi. The Summit is being held ahead of DefExpo, the country's biennial Land, Naval and Internal Homeland Security Systems exhibition slated for April 11-14 in Chennai. With participation from over a hundred representatives from a cross-section of Indian companies, the Summit will serve as a single platform of engagement between these Indian suppliers and the Company for its global supply chains in land systems, air, naval, electronics, and technology.

Paul Smith, Chief Procurement Officer, BAE Systems will deliver the keynote at the Summit in the presence of Nik Khanna, Managing Director, India, and Dr. Joe Senftle, Vice President & General Manager of Weapon Systems at BAE Systems.

The focus on partnerships with Indian companies will continue into BAE Systems' showcase at DefExpo. Leading the Company's presence at the Show will be Alan Garwood, Group Business Development Director; Air Chief Marshal Sir Andy Pulford, Retd. Senior Military Advisor; Nik Khanna, Managing Director, India; Alistair Castle, Country Director-India; Paul West, Director, Indian Campaigns, BAE Systems Inc., amongst others.

Centerstage at DefExpo will be the M777 Ultra Lightweight Howitzer which will be on display for the first time since the Governments of India and the United States agreed the Foreign Military Sale of 145 of these weapon systems for the Indian Army in November 2016. In fulfilment of the Sale, the first two weapon systems arrived in India ahead of schedule in May 2017. Encouraged by Prime Minister Modi's call to 'Make in India', BAE Systems has awarded the development of an Indian Assembly, Integration and Test facility for the M777 to Mahindra and Mahindra. In addition, the conclusion of this procurement has paved the way for BAE Systems to make an investment of over $200 million in Indian defence suppliers.

To underline BAE Systems' capabilities for the naval forces, on display will be the Mk45Mod 4, the lightest, most compact, 5-inch fully automatic naval gun in the world and is the most widely deployed to the U.S. Navy and other allied navies. The show will also see BAE Systems strengthening its intent for industrial partnership on the 40Mk4 Naval Gun. An extremely flexible weapon system with its high rate of fire, 40Mk4 Naval Gun provides capability to switch between optimized ammunition types. In January this year, Finland became the third country to select this weapon system.

The 'Make in India' Hawk advanced jet trainer, in service with the Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy, will also be on display at DefExpo.

Also on display will be a wide array of munitions including versatile 57mm and 40mm programmable 3P Ammo, BONUS 155mm sensor-fused ammunition, 105mm and 155mm artillery, and 120mmTank ammunition, CT40 cannon, 39 Calibre gun, among others. Also present is BvS10, an armoured articulated vehicle that is designed to provide total operational support.

Broadsword® Spine®, a product platform of interconnecting components and a revolutionary wearable technology for the armed forces which incorporates fire & rescue services and law enforcement, will also feature amongst the displays.

Another highlight of the exhibit will be the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS®), a highly cost-effective solution that turns a standard unguided 2.75-inch (70 millimetre) rocket into a precision laser-guided rocket to give war fighters a low-cost surgical strike capability. The APKWS rocket has been successfully demonstrated on more than a dozen fixed-wing and rotary-wing platforms including the F-16, the Bell 407, and AH-64 Apache.

NEW DELHI and CHENNAI, April 5, 2018