Mahindra Defence, a unit of Mahindra & Mahindra signed a memorandum of understanding with Japan's ShinMaywa Industries Limited, for the manufacture and supply of parts for the US 2 amphibious aircraft.

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Under the MOU, Mahindra Defence would look to set up maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) operations in the aerospace sector. The unit would also look to absorb relevant technology.

The partnership with ShinMaywa will help Indian Defence with a supply of heavy seaplanes, and a coastal area would be chosen to set up operations, PS Shukla, President of Mahindra Defence, told CNBC TV 18.

Pilot training, and the repair and overhaul of aircraft would also take place in the country, he added.

Shukla further said the finer details of the partnership would depend on the government's nod for the planes, and added that he number of aircraft purchased would determine the level of indigenisation in the seaplanes.

Mahindra manufactures radar systems, communications systems, and identification friend or foe systsems (IFF) - a system that determines if an aircraft is friendly or not - among other products such as armoured trucks and jeeps.

India has been looking to buy between 12 and 18 of these planes, to fulfill its need for an aircraft capable of conduction search-and-rescue missions.

The plane is suited for `benign' missions such as search-and-rescue (SAR), casualty evacuation (CASEVAC), humanitarian relief and disaster management, and `constabulary' missions such as surveillance, domain awareness (MDA) missions of the Indian Navy.

The aircraft are expected to be based out of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and the 4500 km range of the plane would enable them to support both civilian and military vessels in the Indian Ocean region.

The deal, if concluded, would strengthen India-Japan relations, and would send a message to China, which has been asserting its dominance in the South China sea.

Worth about $ 1.65 billion, it would also represent Japan’s largest overseas defense deal since it lifted its decades-long self-imposed ban on defense exports in 2014.

Both countries are inching forward towards a final deal for the planes.

First Published:Apr 11, 2018 12:42 PM IST