Indian Navy's Boeing P-8I Poseidon

Sasmos will produce 6,600 wiring harnesses for the P-8A, Boeing’s maritime surveillance and patrol aircraft

In yet another boost to the Indian defence and industrial ecosystem, Bangalore-based firm Sasmos has reportedly received a new contract. As per a report in the Economic Times, this contract is to provide Boeing with 6,600 wiring harnesses for the next 16 United States’ Boeing’s P-8A Poseidon maritime intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft.

Wiring harnesses include a number of electrical wires and connection elements to transmit signals/electric power though aircraft, serving an instrumental role in communications and power transmission, ET stated.

Sasmos’ Joint Venture (JV) with Fokker Elmo will produce the wiring harnesses for Boeing, as per the report. Fokker Elmo, based out of Pune, is under the UK company GKN Aerospace, which is a leading supplier in the aerospace industry.

Since 2016, the Sasmos-Fokker Elmo has been producing electrical wiring interconnection systems for the aerospace industry, as well as wire harnesses for P-8As and P-8Is, ET stated. The P-8Is are part of the P-8 Poseidon family, with the ‘I’ referring to India for its India-specific modifications. The Indian and US Navy’s deploy the Poseidon. As an extremely popular ISR platform, its other users include the UK, Australian and Norwegian Air Forces as well as the Korean and German Navies, the ET report added.

According to HG Chandrashekar, Sasmos Het Technologies chairman, the P-8A is a symbol of Sasmos’ quality-driven vision, excellence in design and the latest solutions in the global aerospace and defence field, as per ET.

As per the Economic Times, Ashwani Bhargava, Boeing India’s senior director (supply chain management), said, “Our partnership with Sasmos JV is a testimony of our commitment to building a global supply base, as it brings more value to our customers. We believe that building capabilities indigenously will drive innovation and contribute to the growth of the Indian aerospace and defence industry”

Sasmos has also been involved with Boeing’s F/A-18 Super Hornet; in 2020 it provided the Super Hornet’s 1,000 electrical panel assembly, reported The Week. The Super Horner is an aircraft carrier-based fighter jet still used by the US Navy which is still operational despite its first combat flight coming during the American bombing of Libya in 1986.

Following the Tata-Boeing deal to manufacture the C-295 transport aircraft, Sasmos’ producing electrical harnesses for Boeing is another step in the right direction towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of defence indigenisation and self-reliance.