Bangalore:  Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T) has secured defence orders worth ₹3,000 crore. These orders were part of the larger defence contracts signed by the Indian Ministry of Defence, totalling ₹39,125 crore, its chairman A.M. Naik told reporters on Thursday.

"All the orders are from India. We have to prove ourselves in India first before we can go elsewhere," Naik said at Aero India 2007, where companies such as Boeing Co. and EADS are vying to get a slice of India's defence spending.

"The defence sector has opened up for the private sector now. Unless we do projects for Indian army, navy and air force, we hardly have a chance to export." Larsen and Toubro also said it had signed a memorandum of understanding with U.S. aircraft marker Boeing to jointly explore business opportunities in India's defence sector.

The contracts include the acquisition of upgraded fighter jet engines, supersonic cruise missiles, close-in weapon systems, high-power radars, and ship-borne BrahMos systems.

(With Agency Inputs)