LOCKHEED MARTIN CONCLUDES ANNUAL SUPPLIERS CONFERENCE

Reaffirming its continued commitment to and focus on Make in India, Lockheed Martin has announced the culmination of the 7th edition of its annual Suppliers Conference on July 31, 2020. The event was co-hosted with Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

Themed ‘Making India part of the Global Supply Chain’, the five-day conference witnessed more than 400 delegates. More than 200 companies of all sizes — large, MSMEs and startups participated in the conference. 62 companies joined the conference as exhibitors and used the virtual exhibition area of the ‘CII HIVE’ platform to showcase their company.

V L Kantha Rao, Additional Secretary, Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence; and Brigadier General Brian R. Bruckbauer, Director, Air Force Security Assistance and Cooperation Directorate, United States Air Force was Lockheed Martin’s Chief Guest and Guest of Honour respectively at the inaugural session of the conference. Rakesh Sasibhushan, Chairman of CII National Committee on Space delivered the special address to the delegates along with Lockheed Marin and SIDM leadership.

William L Blair, Vice President and Chief Executive of Lockheed Martin India, said, “The annual Suppliers Conference is testimony to Lockheed Martin’s longstanding commitment to partnering with the Indian industry. Like previous editions, this year too, we saw an encouraging response from our supply chain network, MSMEs and the industry at-large with participation from more than 400 delegates, 200 companies and 62 exhibitors. Aligned with fulfilling the Indian Prime Minister’s vision of self-reliance, we continue to build on the foundation and support the growth of an indigenous defence manufacturing ecosystem, advancing the aerospace and start-up ecosystem, and strengthening India’s strategic security and industrial capabilities.”

During the conference, Lockheed Martin shared new partnership opportunities with the Indian industry on its business areas including Aeronautics, Rotary and Mission Systems (RMS), Missiles and Fire Control (MFC), and Space.