Airbus Defence and Space’s Optronics business unit and the Indian Ministry of Defence have signed a 13 million Euro contract for the delivery of a periscope maintenance facility in Delhi. The dedicated facility will be for the maintenance and repair of all of India’s submarine fleet periscopes and is due to be completed in September 2016.

The maintenance facility contract demonstrates Airbus Defence and Space’s commitment to not only supply systems and technologies to customers, but also to equip them with the necessary operational maintenance capability. Harald Hansen, Director Business Development Sea at Airbus Defence and Space’s Optronics business unit, said: “When a product is serviced, a lot of time is lost during the transport between different facilities. Once maintenance work can be done locally, the operators can speed up this process and enhance the operational readiness of the Indian fleet.”

The establishment of the periscope maintenance facility and the training of technicians from the Indian Navy in Germany and India can be seen as a first step in establishing an in-country service capability for future naval operations. For the implementation of the facility, Airbus Defence and Space is partnering with the Tata Consultancy Services and H&H Precision Pvt Ltd.