Lockheed Martin could make India the global
maintenance hub for its F-16 fighter jets if the country chooses them in an
ongoing selection process
New Delhi: US defence and aerospace giant Lockheed Martin
Corp. could make India the global maintenance hub for its F-16 fighter jets if
the country chooses them in an ongoing selection process, a top company
executive said.
Lockheed has tied up with Tata Advanced Systems Ltd to
bid for India’s $12-billion multi-role fighter jet deal, where it is competing
with Gripen jets made by Swedish company SAAB. Days after the partnership was
made public at the Paris Air Show, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had met
Lockheed Martin chairman and CEO Marillyn Hewson during his visit to US late
June.
Keoki Jackson, chief technology officer, Lockheed Martin
said the group will build jets with Tatas if and when the deal goes through.
“We would love to build F-16 line here in India, and that would, of course, be
a partnership with Tatas and if that works out, it will be a huge benefit for
both India and the United States in terms of broad manufacturing expertise
capabilities, engineering capabilities here in India and jobs both in India and
US,” Jackson told Mint in New Delhi, on Wednesday.
Jackson said there were around 3000 F-16s worldwide and
India could become a hub to service them.
“The other thing to think about is that there is an
installed base of 3000 F-16S around the world; so long term, if you think about
the opportunities, there is
MRO...because there is a large installed base we would anticipate ongoing large
support logistics to sustain those activities for our fleet for many years to
come,” he said. MRO stands for maintenance, repair and overhaul of aircraft.
Lockheed already has a partnership with Tatas under which
it manufacturers aircraft and aerostructures in Hyderabad. These include
empennage and wing boxes for C130 Hercules turboprop military transport
aircraft and cabins for Sikorsky helicopters.
“It's a state-of-the- art factory; both the engineering
and production quality is extremely high,” Jackson said.
At least 100 such C130 kits from India have been supplied
since 2013, he added.
Deliveries of all the C130s will be completed to India by
end of the year, he said, adding there were “no fresh requests for C130” from
India. In 2008, India ordered six C130 aircraft from Lockheed Martin, followed
by another six.
Some analysts have said the Indian deal was critical to
keep the production of the legacy jet alive beyond 2020s and maintained that
Gripen was ahead in technology. However, Jackson said the Block 70 version of
the F-16 was the top-of-the-line aircraft.
“(It is a) decision for the India and US governments (to
make) and we are ready to proceed whenever that decision would be,” he said.
Bharat Karnad, professor for national security studies at
New Delhi based Centre for Policy Research said SAAB’s Gripen is far ahead in
technology and is the unstated choice for the Indian Air Force.
“The Block 70 is an updated version of a 70s vintage
fighter aircraft, so it is a bit like a granny dressing up for a debutante’s
ball,” he said adding, “About the MRO hub and all that, well, everybody’s
taking that...(statement with) a ton of salt. Recall that the original offer was
to produce all orders for this aircraft from anywhere from the India source.
But under Trump’s pressure, LM decided to continue producing some F-16 and
spares for USAF use in order to retain jobs at the Fort Worth F-16 plant in
Texas,” he added.
Karnad also said he remained unsure if India will even go
ahead with this deal at all.
“Post-Modi’s visit with Trump, an evaluation has been
ordered and will take years (with this assessment not available before the 2019
elections), thereby all but killing its prospects,” he said adding it may
eventually not happen, “(It will go) through the motions to make the case to
Washington that we are giving it careful consideration.”
First Published: Mon, Jul 31 2017. 02 26 AM IST
Related post:
F-16V Fighter– Upgrade: Details
No comments:
Post a Comment