Jay Clemens
Both Lockheed Martin and Saab have offered to build the next generation of fighter jets for India’s military forces as the nation seeks to retire its legacy combat fleet, International Business Times reported Monday.
Aditya Bhat writes Lockheed Martin’s F-16 Falcon Block 70 and Saab’s Gripen E fighter aircraft are now among the potential candidates for India’s requirement for more than 400 fighter aircraft.
India’s air force recently released a request for sources of single-engine combat aircraft as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Make in India program, according to the report.
Boeing and Dassault have placed separate bids for the military branch’s requirements, with Boeing offering to open a new production facility for the company’s F/A 18 Super Hornet in India, the report says.
Both Lockheed and Saab have also proposed to set up production facilities in the country, according to the report.
The country’s navy also wants to procure 60 twin-engine shipboard fighter jets within five years as India plans to deploy its first Indigenous Aircraft Carrier in 2018, Bhat reports.
