By Aritra Banerjee
The extraordinary success story of the BahMos missile system is built upon a vast network of over 200 dedicated supply chain partners and industry collaborators. Their contributions have played a crucial role in shaping the success of BrahMos Aerospace. Indian Aerospace & Defence delves into the companies that have served as the backbone of the BrahMos supply chain ecosystem.
L&T Defence, an essential player in BrahMos’ journey, has provided valuable insights into preparedness for scaling up production and managing changes in cost within the supply chains.
Specialising in launcher systems for naval variants of the BrahMos missile, L&T creates vertical and inclined launchers, fire control systems (FCS), missile canister systems, and composite airframe sections. The potential increase in BrahMos missile orders, both domestically and internationally, has prompted Team IADB to inquire about L&T Defence’s plans for scaling production.
Arun Ramchandani, Executive Vice President of L&T Defence, and an industry scion who has been instrumental in India’s indigenisation efforts, shared insights into L&T Defence’s positioning amidst future orders.
Excerpts from the conversation…
Q. Could you elaborate on how L&T Defence is prepared to accommodate a potential surge in BrahMos missile orders, both from domestic acquisitions and export requirements?
Ans: We are very well geared up to do this. We have a dedicated facility at Coimbatore for composite production. We have an established facility in Talegaon for the building and testing of the Fire Control System (FCS). We have a special launcher test facility.
Q. Given the current global supply chain issues, how does L&T Defence plan to handle any challenges related to the procurement of raw materials for the production of BrahMos missiles?
Ans: We are fully equipped to manage the supply chain. Given the global supply change issues, there could be some challenges with some of the raw materials, etc, given the global supply chain challenges. Still, I am very confident that as far as the industry is concerned, it is well geared up for scaling up to any requirement of BrahMos.
We have been through this journey over the past 25 years. We have seen it all and overcome many technological challenges. I think things have stabilised a lot now. I really do not foresee any challenges. As I said, the odd raw material or something that is globally sourced and not ‘Made-in-India’ may be a problem, but they are our global supply chain, and we will have to plan that well.
Q. How does L&T Defence optimise the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the supply chain ecosystem?
Ans: I would say that the Indian defence ecosystem is growing and with the government’s thrust on domestic production, domestic production has climbed up to almost INR 100,000 crore in a year. With this size of an industrial base, a lot of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are coming into the system, and I think a good competitive environment is being created, which will enable us to manage the supply chain.
Q. Is there anything that you would like to add?
Ans: We are very proud to be associated with BrahMos; it is a world-class product.
