Today Secretary Locke flew to Bangalore for the second stop of his high-technology business development trade mission to India.

Locke’s first stop on his visit was Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.’s (HAL) facilities. HAL is one of Asia’s largest aerospace companies, employing approximately 34,000 people with roughly $2 billion in annual revenue. The company has partnered with leading U.S. aerospace manufacturers – Boeing, Honeywell, and Lockheed Martin – on several projects. The U.S export content value for HAL is $40 to $50 million dollars annually with hundreds of millions in future export opportunities.

“HAL’s supplier and partnership arrangements with U.S. companies are producing tangible benefits for both our economies by generating greater industrial cooperation and commercial commitments, technology sharing, and high-value jobs in both countries,” Locke said.

Later in the day, Locke participated in an Aero India 2011 press conference with U.S. Ambassador Timothy Roemer, and met with American Chamber of Commerce and U.S. India Business Council delegates. U.S. participation in Aero India is the largest to date with over 40 U.S. companies. At Aero India, Secretary Locke inaugurated the U.S. pavilion and met with India’s Defense Minister A.K. Antony. India’s growing aviation sector offers U.S. aerospace companies an estimated $55 billion in export opportunities in large civilian aircraft and civil aviation infrastructure during the next five years.