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| CGI of India's F-16 Block 70 |
By: Valerie Insinna
WASHINGTON — The issue of technology transfer is likely to be the sticking point on whether the US government sanctions the potential move of Lockheed Martin’s F-16 production line to India, the Air Force’s top civilian said Wednesday.
Fresh off an August trip to the Asia-Pacific region with stops at India, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines, Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James told reporters she discussed the possible sales of F-16s and Navy F/A-18s with Indian defense officials to help promote the US defense industry and further military cooperation between the two nations. Both Lockheed and Boeing, which produces the F/A-18, have proposed moving production to India in the hopes of attracting new sales of two fighter jets whose days are numbered.
James said her discussions with Secretary of Defense Production Askok Kumar Gupta, Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha and Vice Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa did not go into the details of the industry proposals. However, the talks did touch on technology transfer issues, something that she said was seen as crucial for finalizing a possible deal.
“Obviously technology transfer is something that India is really, really hoping for [and] looking for,” she said. “So how much we're able to work through will probably be a key determinant.
“And also I think a key determinant in what India ultimately ends up doing will relate to the Make in India part — how many jobs, what sorts of technologies might transfer,” she said, referring to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s effort to expand the country’s manufacturing sector.
Boeing and Lockheed have made buying fighter jets a condition of any possible deal to move production to India. The country is also considering other fighter jets, such as Saab’s Gripen and the Eurofighter Typhoon. Notably, James said Indian officials did not express interest in the US Air Force’s newest fighter, the F-35, which has amassed 10 international customers so far.
She added that she did not expect India to come to a decision for at least a year.
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