Tata inks pact with Honeywell to build defence navigator in India

Tata Power SED, Tata Power's defence engineering unit, has signed an agreement with US-based Honeywell International to produce the latter's Tactical Advanced Land Inertial Navigator (Talin) in India, Honeywell said in a statement on Monday.

Honeywell will license the design and hardware to assemble, test and eventually build the production kits for the navigation system in the country, in a boost for the government's efforts to encourage local manufacturing of defence equipment.

The agreement, announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ongoing US visit , will mark the first time India has produced inertial land navigation technology, Honeywell said.

India, which is the world's largest arms importer, is keen to modernise its armed forces by promoting the domestic industry.

In a bid to kick start local production and encourage foreign manufacturers to share technology, the new Modi-led government has approved a plan to raise the amount of foreign direct investment (FDI) allowed in its defence industry to 49 per cent from 26 per cent.

Rahul Chaudhry, chief executive at Tata Power SED, said in the statement that the technology sharing arrangement "will offer the Indian Armed Forces a state-of-the-art inertial navigation technology, made in India and with local product support".

Talin enables precision navigation for vehicles and artillery movement, even where GPS satellite guidance is limited in far-flung and difficult terrains.

(Reuters)