Lockheed Martin expects $15 billion worth orders for the aircraft.
AB Wire
American defense giant Lockheed Martin said that the company has submitted a proposal to the Government of India to produce and export the latest version of fighter aircraft F 16-Block 70 as part of the ‘Make in India’ program, reported Press Trust of India (PTI).
The company will move its production line from Texas to India if the government accepts the proposal. However, the company has made a condition that the Indian Air Force should choose the aircraft for its fleet.
“The offer we have given to the Indian government is unmatched and from our side unprecedented,” Randall L Howard, F16 Business Development head at Lockheed Martin, said.
The company wants to produce F 16 from Indian and export to other countries. The company is expecting $15 billion worth orders for the latest version of the aircraft.
The company believes that it can export at least 100 aircraft to countries in the Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
The officials of the company are having discussions with the Defense Ministry of India which is evaluating the proposal submitted by Lockheed Martin.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has recently said that the IAF is considering the purchase of one aircraft to meet the rising demand for modern arms.
“This is a state-of-the-art fighter — the most modern F16 in the world and our proposal is to make it in India. We want to make India the sole producer of all future variants of the F16. This is an offer we have never made to anyone before,” George Standridge, vice-president (aeronautics strategy and business development), Lockheed Martin told The Economic Times.
Lockheed sees India as the “new epicenter of the world’s most extensive, industrial defense network.” They are expecting a cost cut if the production plant is moved to India.
Though the company has not decided on the kind of investment to be made, they are considering a joint venture model where the prime ownership will reside within the Indian company.