Chief of air staff Air Chief Marshal S Krishnaswamy on Friday visited software major Infosys Technologies and explored opportunities with the IT firm to participate in the country's indigenisation efforts in avionics.
"It is to understand the quality in the private sector and identify areas in which they can help us," Krishnaswamy told reporters in Bangalore, ahead of his visit to the Infosys campus on the outskirts of the city.
An Infosys spokesperson said officials of the company made a presentation to the Air Chief about the company.
Krishnaswamy said a US Air force commander, who visited Infosys during his India visit, was impressed by the quality of work done by the software major.
Bangalore-based Infosys last year began an aerospace vertical and is working on projects for European aircraft major Airbus Industrie.
Besides this, Infosys has bought the intellectual property rights in 'Autolay', a commercial software application product used in designing high performance structural systems like the development of Light Combat Aircraft.
The IT major bought the IPR from Aeronautical Development Agency, a Defence Research and Development Organisation lab, for Rs 24.50 crore (Rs 245 million).
Appreciating the various software development works being carried out by the IT firms of Bangalore, Krishnaswamy said some of the companies were working on special systems for US space and military organisations.
Stating that the mission computer, which is at the heart of India's latest supersonic fighter Sukhoi-30 MKI, was built in Bangalore, the Air Chief said the Defence Avionics Research Establishment or DARE had developed it.
He said the IAF was developing software applications for its use from the Software Development Institute, which was located in Bangalore.
Asserting the need for indigenous technology, Krishnaswamy said, "We should develop our own software. Then we can be secure."
