BY JOHN
VENABLE
It’s the
right move for the United States, even if it makes the Trump administration
uncomfortable.
Earlier
this month, a
delegation of U.S. government and business officials flew to New
Delhi. Its mission:
to reassure the Indian government that the U.S. really wants them to
replenish its fighter fleet with F-16s. It’s the right move for a lot of
reasons — some of them potentially uncomfortable to the new
Trump administration.
The Indian
Air Force is working to replace its aging fleet of third-generation, Soviet-era
jets with up to 250 fighters that could defend its interests against China and
Pakistan should a conflict arise. Late last year, India agreed to purchase 36
French Rafales, but most of its new fighter-jet orders will be filled through a
competition between the Swedish JAS 39 Gripen and America’s F-16
Fighting Falcon.
Performance
and cost will help determine the outcome, but the Indian government has also
stipulated that the winner will also have to commit to producing the fighter in
India. It’s a precondition that may not sit well with Trump administration
officials focused on preserving American jobs. But sealing a fighter deal would
be an important step in strengthening U.S.-India ties. That’s desirable because
the two countries share both democratic values and a growing geopolitical
concern about China.
Last year,
President Obama declared India its
first “Major Defense Partner,” the latest development in a defense
relationship that grew steadily closer over the past
two U.S. administrations. Selling them the F-16 would be another
concrete demonstration of America’s commitment to this vital strategic
relationship. And solidifying India’s role as a major defense partner will go a
long way toward keeping that region of the world in balance.
Performance
and Cost
The
original JAS 39 Gripen, designed by SAAB in the 1980s and
initially fielded in the late 1990s, was a fourth-generation multirole
fighter. The JAS 39E, which first flew in 2008, is a significantly
improved version. The E-model boasts an Active Electronically Scanned Array
(AESA) radar, a robust sensor package that includes Infrared Search and Track
(IRST), and a processor that allows real-time data fusion. The jet reportedly
costs $85 million a copy, roughly the same as the projected price tag for the
stealth F-35A when it enters full-rate production.
The Gripen’s
competition is Lockheed’s 4+-generation F-16 Block 70, a variant of the Block
60 developed for and sold to the UAE. Thanks to more than $3 billion
in UAE-funded research and development, the new F-16 has a fiber-optic data
bus that can handle a thousand times more information than its
predecessor. With an estimated price tag of $55 million, the Block 70 also has
an AESA radar, an internal IRST, and fuselage-hugging conformal
fuel tanks that free up wing stations for more weapons.
Other factors
that India will consider include cost per flight hour and the logistics for
acquiring munitions and major subcomponents made outside the country. The
Swedish-designed Gripen, for example, is powered by U.S.-made General Electric
motors, and its munitions will come from both American and European
suppliers. This makes the logistics a bit more complicated
for SAAB’s candidate.
But the
Gripen costs $4,700 per flight hour, far lower than the F-16’s $7,000 hourly
rate. That may be enough to even out the initial price difference between the
two competitors over time.
Both jets are
solid performers and, like Gripen, Lockheed has offered to produce or even move
the F-16 production line to India. In the end, the decision will likely come
down to logistics and the military-to-military relationship—both factors that
favor the F-16. But the production line move may become a sticking point in
the U.S.
Producing
the F-16 in India
Both
the JAS 39 and the F-16 have already been either assembled or
produced outside their countries of origin. But the impending closure of the
F-16’s production line in Fort Worth complicates matters.
The U.S. Air
Force bought its last F-16 in 1997. Since then, the production line has been
sustained solely by foreign military sales. Unfortunately, those sales have
dwindled in the last several years due to global competition and a
vacillating U.S. policy on foreign military sales.
Bahrain and
Taiwan, which both operate the F-16, have petitioned the U.S. to
allow them to buy more, but those sales were thwarted by the Obama
administration. With no other purchase in the works, Lockheed Martin plans to
shut down the line at year’s end.
Lockheed
can’t win the contract unless President Trump, who won his election on a
buy-American platform, allows F-16 production to move, at least in part, to
India. But if the Trump administration blocks the move, New Delhi will likely
buy the Gripen and the Fort Worth production line will close as scheduled — and
that will dim the futures of some 450 American manufacturers and businesses
that supply F-16 parts.
Maintaining
F-16 production in India would help shore up those companies. Over time, some
of those jobs may also shift from the United States to India, but the
complexities of production and the sheer number of independent suppliers will
leave room for negotiations and decision space on the best way for both
countries to fulfill this deal.
Finally, New
Delhi’s fighter decision will also affect the United States’ global security
posture. A U.S. victory would bolster our bilateral alliance and
improve India’s military capacity, capability, and interoperability
with U.S. forces. This would help balance Chinese assertiveness
without requiring a greater U.S. military footprint in
the region.
This is a
golden opportunity for the new administration. By approving this sale and
allowing India to produce the F-16, President Trump would strengthen our global
security posture, bolster our relationship with India, and save American jobs
that would otherwise be lost if and when the last F-16 rolls off the line in
Fort Worth.
Original
post: defenseone.com
The F-16 is
old and nowhere near Gripen E capabilities and would cost more than the Gripen
E contrary to what the article claims……UAE recent purchase of
Su-35 is another blow to F-16V…..and the article “American Gripen: The Solution To The F-35 Nightmare” clearly explains that the Gripen E is the best fighter.......If India chose F-16 it would be politically motivated.....
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