Minister of state for Defence Subhash Bhamre
has claimed that there has been no immediate proposal for the procurement of
F-16 jets.
By IANS | New Delhi | Updated: 4 August 2017
, 5:12 PM
There is no proposal to buy F-16 fighter jets for the
Indian Air Force at the moment, the government said on Friday. This comes as
Tata Group and American aerospace giant Lockheed Martin have signed a deal to
jointly produce the F-16 fighter jets in India, which was signed during the
Paris Air Show in June.
Under the deal, Lockheed will shift its Fort Worth, Texas
plant to India.
“There is no immediate proposal to procure F-16 fighter
jets for the Indian Air Force. Details of agreements entered into by Indian
companies in this regard are not held by the government,” Minister of State for
Defence Subhash Bhamre said in a written reply to Lok Sabha.
“Any future procurement of fighter jets for the Indian
Air Force would be undertaken under the extant procurement procedures,” the
Minister said.
Earlier this week, Bhamre was asked in the Rajya Sabha if
India and the US have agreed for transfer of sophisticated technology and
production of F-16 fighter jets under ‘Make in India’.
The Minister replied in the negative.
After signing the agreement in Paris, Lockheed Martin in
a statement had said: “The F-16 Block 70 is ideally suited to meet the Indian
Air Force’s single-engine fighter needs and this unmatched US-Indian industry
partnership directly supports India’s initiative to develop private aerospace
and defense manufacturing capacity in India.”
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