Are Indian firms prepared for executing such design and build contracts for aircraft systems?
At that stage, it will involve risk sharing with the OEMs. The OEMs are under a lot of financial pressure and they want their partners to put in money. The risk capital could range from $100 million to $300 million and have more than 7-8 years of gestation period. So, unless there are organisations or associations or consortium to take a view of that nature, it is going to be a challenge.But, first we need to have the ability to meticulously execute design and manufacturing pieces. After that, we can try to integrate both and take risk capital on top of it so there is evolution.I believe India will get there. Are Indian firms sharing any kind of risk today with their aerospace customers? We are doing it (sharing risk) at a smaller level – at the sub-system level. For instance, we (QuEST Global) are investing in the landing gear control programme of Boeing 787. We have invested in tools, which we will start recovering once we start shipping next year. Do they have appetite for such risk
