Sikorsky, India’s Tata in aerospace venture

Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. in Stratford has teamed with Tata Sons to enable one of India's biggest industrial conglomerates to establish itself in the Asian nation's aerospace industry.

Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) has agreed to supply Sikorsky with cabin components for its S-92 helicopter. Financial terms and production volumes were not disclosed.

TASL is building an assembly plant in Hyderabad, in the state of Andhra Pradesh, to be completed in 2011 for deliveries to begin in 2012.

Their latest agreement builds on firm discussions between both companies, dating to 2007, to jointly explore the formation of aerospace operations in India, the companies announced.

Sikorksky is a unit of Hartford-based United Technologies Corp. Sikorsky has a similar venture in Poland, where its PZL Mielec aerospace unit also supplies it with helicopter cabins. The first cabin for a military helicopter was delivered to Sikorsky's Stratford plant in October.

UTC Chief Executive Louis Chenevert personally signed the agreement with Tata Sons Chairman Ratan N. Tata and TASL officials, Sikorsky said.

Tata Sons' annual revenue of about $62.5 billion compares to UTC's annual sales of about $58.7 billion.