New Delhi, January 29:

The world’s biggest armaments companies are making a beeline for a defence exhibition that begins here next week, drawn by India’s emergence as one of the largest buyers of hi-tech weaponry.

The fourth edition of Defexpo-India beginning from Tuesday will be dominated by defence majors from the US, all with an eye on several big-ticket arms purchase deals that India is likely to finalise in the future. So large is the American presence at the fair that Russia, wh-ich has supplied almost 75 per cent of the arsenal of India’s armed forces for decades, has been nudged to the third spot, behind the US and Israel.

Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Boeing, Bell Helicopters, DCN, Thales, Rolls Royce, Israel Aircraft Industries, Elbit and Rosoboronexport are among the more than 400 companies from 29 countries that will participate in the four-day long event. And while no deals are likely to be finalised during the fair, experts say the interaction it will facilitate will help firm up purchases in the coming years, worth millions of dollars.

“Nobody will come here unless he sees the market opportunities,” said wing commander Rajesh Dhingra, joint director with the Defence Exhibition Organisation, which is organising the event along with the Confederation of Indian Industry. “The manufacturers are attracted by the size of the market, and they are also looking at forging joint ventures for technology transfers and outsourcing, especially under the offset clause which necessitates a tie up with Indian firms.”

According to a report by the US Congressional Research Service, India was the largest arms purchaser among developing nations in 2004, inking deals worth $5.7 billion, higher than Saudi Arabia ($2.9 billion) and China ($2.2 billion). Last year, India signed its largest-ever individual defence deal worth $3.5 billion to build six Scorpene submarines using technology and know-how provided by France’s DCN. In December 2005, it concluded a contract of over $500 million with Russia to buy Smerch multiple rocket launchers.

India is now in the market for 126 combat jets and has also said it intends to buy scores of helicopters, transport aircraft and medium ships that would help it respond to natural disasters.