U.S. Navy personnel on submerged submarine use periscopes to view surface activity. (U.S. Navy photo: Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Ronald Gutridge)

UNTERSCHLEISSHEIM, Germany, Nov. 18 (UPI) -- A facility for the maintenance and repair of Indian Navy submarine periscopes is being built in India by Airbus Defense and Space's Optronics business unit.

Airbus Defense and Space said the contract is worth more than $16.2 million and that the facility will be completed in September of 2016.


"The maintenance facility contract demonstrates Airbus Defense and Space's commitment to not only supply systems and technologies to customers, but also to equip them with the necessary operational maintenance capability," the company said.

The company's local partners for building the plant are Tata Consultancy Services and H&H Precision Pvt Ltd.

Indian Navy technicians will be trained in India and Germany by the company to perform the maintenance and repair work on the periscopes, which were manufactured by Airbus Defense and Space.

"When a product is serviced, a lot of time is lost during the transport between different facilities," said Harald Hansen, director of Business Development Sea at Airbus Defense and Space's Optronics business. "Once maintenance work can be done locally, the operators can speed up this process and enhance the operational readiness of the Indian fleet."