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| Lockheed Martin F-16IN designed for India's MMRCA competition |
According to the Hindustan Times, the US Department of Defense has cleared proposals from US aviation giants Boeing and Lockheed Martin to manufacture top-line fighter aircraft as part of the ‘Make in India’ initiative. The proposals, including breakthrough offers on transfer of technology and licences, were conveyed by US defence secretary Ashton Carter to defence minister Manohar Parrikar last week.
Boeing’s offer is for the F-18 twin-engine fighter while Lockheed Martin’s is for the single-engined F-16. Since every F-18 costs about $100 million and F-16s are close to the $70-million mark each, the proposal represents a very large investment. If either comes through, it will mean setting up of a production line, and will translate into a giant leap for the aviation sector in India.
Government sources said the US has also accepted an Indian non-paper on broader export controls in light of the latter being designated a major defence partner of Washington. The two sides also discussed sharing of sensitive data related to top-end defence technology and possible transfer of high-altitude long-duration drones for maritime surveillance.
Read the full story at Air Recognition