EADS defence division opens engineering centre in Bangalore

The first-of-its kind engineering centre which would be operated by a foreign company in defence sector in India was inaugurated by Stefan Zoller, CEO of Cassidian, in the presence of Minister of State for Defence M M Pallam Raju.

"The engineering centre will be at the forefront of engineering and system development, developing its core competencies in the areas of radar systems, protection systems, avionic systems, engineering IT and 3D visual simulation, aerostructure and aerospace modelling and simulation," a company official said.

The centre is staffed almost entirely with Indian engineers who were provided extensive training at EADS facilities in Europe. The company also plans to increase the number of employees from present 60 to 200 by the end of 2012.

While inaugurating the centre, Zoller stressed upon the special importance of opening it in India.

"The engineering centre in Bengaluru is a perfect example of our commitment to increasing our industrial footprint in this rapidly growing country and to creating a wide range of opportunities for industrial cooperation," he said.

EADS, a four-nation consortium consisting of Germany and Spain, Britain's BAE Systems and Italy's Finmeccanica, has already pitched for the USD 11 billion deal for Medium-Multi Role Combat Aircraft (M-MRCA).