Airbus Defence & Space, Europe’s top defence and space enterprise, sees Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Make in India” programme as a long-term “vision” which will yield fruits in years to come. “This rule is fixed by the Prime Minister. We have to set up a factory from the scratch and establish supply chain and we will have to import equipment for it which will destroy the cost,” said Jean Pierre Talamoni, Head of Sales and Marketing, while addressing visiting journalists near Munich.

He said that “”Make in India”” was a good idea and a long-term vision but the supply chain and related infrastructure will take a few years to come by in a gradual manner. “”If we build something together and share technology, we should also be ready to share profits. India is biggest importer of arms in the world and its requirements are also varied,”” Mr. Talamoni said. Airbus Defence & Space is also stressing upon  several key drivers to bolster its future growth. These key drivers are innovation, integration, connectivity, digital technology and marketing.

Talking to journalists from across the world, Dirk Hoke, CEO of Airbus Defence & Space, said: “We have to become more agile and faster so that we can increase the speed of our business. We are also learning to integrate new ideas and use new technology to make our business grow in future.” Mr. Hoke said the group was also looking at its traditional business of aerospace and military aircraft to speed up the growth. The European giant had generated revenues worth over 13 billion Euros in 2015.

The Airbus Defence & Space CEO said that European nations, including Germany, were looking at increasing their defence budgets which would offer more opportunities for the growth in business. In a similar vein, Mr. Talamoni said the group was focusing on Customer, Services and Innovation (CSI). “The world is going fast, we have to follow the speed. After all Apple, Blackberry and Orange were only fruits 20 years ago,” he quipped.

He said the defence sector growth in Europe was pegged at about two per cent annually but it was estimated to grow at six per cent in Asia-Pacific region. “Two-third of new military aircraft opportunities are in Asia and Mid-East region. In the next 10 years 150 heavy lift, 85 tankers and 750 combat aircraft would be required and half of the requirement would be in Asia,” he predicted. Mr. Talamoni said that competition was becoming global and the Airbus group would be looking at diversifying its customer base and ensuring shorter delivery time.

He said that best selling military aircraft of Airbus like A-330 multi-role tanker transport, A400 M heavy lift aircraft, C-295 medium transport aircraft have won wide wide acceptance from a number of nations and were doing well in the global market. “However, our effort to improve upon technology, introduce innovations are continuing on all assembly lines,” he added.