Even as controversy has erupted on the transfer of eight F 16s to Pakistan by the US, New Delhi has been considering a proposal to manufacture the fighter jets under the ‘Make in India’ initiative.
In several recent meetings, including a high-level interaction in November last year in Washington, the aircraft have been offered for local production – both to meet Indian requirements and for exports.
The Lockheed Martin (LM) manufactured F-16 is one of the several fighters that has been proposed to be manufactured in India and is being actively pushed by Washington. But the American corporation’s executive did not commit any time-frame to have the plant operational, saying the group supports the ongoing government-to-government talks.
Currently, Lockheed Martin manufactures one jet a month from its plant in the US and has a series of contracts and joint ventures in India with over 1,000 employees. There are currently 3500-4000 F-16s in service worldwide and with these planes expected to remain in service at least until 2030 and beyond, there will be a major market for servicing these aircraft.
The offer to make the F-16 in India was for a more advanced variant of the fighter that is being sold to Pakistan and was termed as the F-16 IN Super Viper. The aircraft was in contention of the now scrapped medium multirole combat aircraft contract for the Indian air force but was disqualified on technical grounds.
The company has supplied six C130J Super Hercules planes to India in 2011 and will be delivering another six helicopters next year.
Lockheed Martin’s wish to manufacture F-16 is based on the strong demand from the Indian armed forces and would want to lower the cost of the planes for exports by using the low-cost capability in India.
While this approach may slow India’s progress in building up its force posture in the manner envisioned by the MMRCA tender, under which another 90 advanced fighters are required, it might make more sense from a cost perspective in that India could save money for a theoretical future purchase of the F-35 instead, a fifth generation fighter.
Besides the F/A 18 Super Hornet and the F 16IN Super Viper, the Indian government is considering at least two more proposals to make fighter jets in India. One offer on the table is from Sweden’s SAAB to transfer the Gripen fighter line to India. Another is a proposal by Airbus to create a ‘Eurofighter City’ in India that would produce its Eurofighter jet and generate thousands of jobs.
Certainly, Lockheed Martin would want to exploit the engineering skill and low cost capabilities in India and make F-16 very competitive in the fighter jet markets. India could now become the top maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) hub for the 3,500-plus F-16s in service worldwide – including those in Pakistan!
So, good to make them in India and sell them to Pak, insert a spy chip in them which make them useless if Pak F-16s enter Indian airspace again. And if they somehow do so, blow it in pieces using the chip XD. What do you say?
