US-India Business Council leads executive mission to Aero India 2017

New Delhi [India], Feb 15 (ANI): The US-India Business Council led its delegation to Aero India 2017 in Bangalore, showcasing continuity in the defense and security partnership between the United States and India following designation of India as a "Major Defense Partner", which directs the US government to prioritize defense trade with India. The international delegation consisted of more than 20 senior executives from American aerospace and defense companies. It conducted a seminar on opportunities to integrate India into the global supply chain that included global expert Tom Captain of Deloitte. USIBC's Executive Mission was led by George Standridge, Vice President for Strategy and Business Development for Lockheed Martin, and Tom Bell, Senior Vice President, Boeing. Senior executives representing America's top defense companies, including Arconic, Telephonics, Raytheon, Honeywell, Harris Corporation, and Textron Systems are part of USIBC's delegation. "India is an important partner for US industry. With a presence in India for over 25 years, Lockheed Martin is pleased to participate alongside the US-India Business Council at Aero India 2017. This is an excellent venue to further discussions in support of Prime Minister Modi's call to Make in India, and we are committed to sharing knowledge, skills, and technology, today and in the future," said VP for Strategy and Business Development for Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, Mission co-lead, George Standridge. "The US and Indian defense industries are poised to work collaboratively to position India as a major defense partner of the United States. Boeing is committed to facilitating the ecosystem for India's defense industrial base in a manner that supports job growth in both countries," said Senior Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing for Boeing Defense, Space and Security (BDS), Tom Bell. "As a 49 percent shareholder of the aerospace and defense focused operational joint venture Mahindra Telephonic Integrated Systems (MTIS) and OEM of strategic electronics integrated in numerous active rotary and fixed-wing military platforms in India for over 20 years, we are very excited to play a part in the US-India Business Council Delegation at Aero India 2017. It is an ideal venue to exchange lessons learned and showcase our commitment and progress supporting the Indian market and the Make in India initiative," said Corporate Vice President for Telephonic Corporation, Hector F. Colon. "We look forward to continue our effort with USIBC to strengthen the Make in India campaign and also foster the blossoming India-US Defense collaboration," added Colon. USIBC's Director of Aerospace and Defense, Ben Schwartz said, "2017 should be an exciting year for the defense industry. We are hopeful that some key changes will take place that augur well for the bilateral partnership such as an agreement on communications security and the reform of defense offset management." (ANI)