Martin-Baker will increase its presence in India, with a new facility to open later in 2025 in the city of Bengaluru.
The facility will maintain and manufacture ejection seats for the Indian air force, says Steve Roberts, head of business development at Martin-Baker. Roberts spoke with FlightGlobal at last week’s Aero India air show in Bengaluru.
The facility will also help address export opportunities for ejection seats.
Martin-Baker is in the process of delivering 108 ejection seats for 83 Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Mk-1A fighters. The company has delivered about 40% of the IN16G seats for this order, with final deliveries expected by 2028.
This follows the delivery of 51 seats for the Tejas LCA Mk-1.
The company is also in discussions with the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) about a variant of the IN16 seat designed for the LCA Mk2. The LCA Mk2 requires an updated seat because its cockpit canopy will differ from early LCA versions.
While the IN16 seat is being offered for prototype versions of the LCA Mk2, Martin-Baker is also offering its Mk18 seat for production versions, as well as for the planned Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) and Twin-Engine Deck Based Fighter (TEDBF).
The ADA and Martin-Baker will exchange design data and reach consensus on the cockpit and aircraft technical requirements before finalising the type of seat required.
In addition to its work on future programmes, Martin-Baker continues to support HAL and the air force for seats installed on in-service aircraft.
