In a bold move to try and secure an estimated US$15 billion-plus order for 114 fighter jets from the Indian government, Lockheed Martin has unveiled its proposal to upgrade the previously offered F-16 and replace it with an F-21 configured specifically for its needs. Announcing its plans at Aero India 2019 in Bengalaru, Lockheed Martin has made it clear it would relocate its F-16 production plant in Fort Worth, Texas, to India and work alongside India’s Tata Advanced Systems to produce the fighter jet. This would also be seen as a boost to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make-in-India’ plan to build a domestic military industrial base and to create jobs.
Lockheed Martin is in direct competition with Boeing’s F/A-18, Saab’s Gripen, Dassault Aviation’s Rafale, the Eurofighter Typhoon and a Russian aircraft for the air force order. Originally Lockheed Martin had proposed the F-16 but while the Indian government was looking to upgrade its ageing fleet of Soviet-era fighter jets, it felt that the F-16 was not a sufficiently modern aircraft. “The F-21 is different, inside and out,” Vivek Lall, vice president of Strategy and Business Development for Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, said in a statement.
According to Reuters, a statement issued by the company indicated that: “Lockheed Martin also sees the F21 as India’s gateway to the stealth F-35 fighter. “The F-21 has common components and learning from Lockheed Martin’s 5th Generation F-22 and F-35 and will share a common supply chain on a variety of components,” adding that production in India would create thousands of jobs for Indian industry as well as support hundreds of U.S.-based Lockheed Martin engineering, program management and customer support positions.
