US offers its latest fighter to India

NEW DELHI - The US has offered to India yet another sophisticated defence system, this time its fifth generation F-35 Lightning-II fighter aircraft.

The “possible sale” of this aircraft, which is still under development, was mentioned in the past “if the Indian Air Force (IAF) purchased the F 16 Super Viper for its Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (M-MRCA) requirement.”

But according to a report in the coming issue of India Strategic defence magazine, Lockheed Martin, which manufactures these both aircraft, has now made a presentation without this condition to the Indian Navy for its carrier-borne aircraft requirements in about seven to eight years from now.

India Strategic quoted Orville Prins, Lockheed Martins vice president for business development, as saying that the presentation was made after a Request for Information (RFI) for newer generation of aircraft was received from the Indian Navy recently.

Prins pointed out though the company had been authorized by the US Department of Defense (DOD) to make the presentation, its sale could be done only after a bilateral agreement between Washington and New Delhi.

Arms and weapon systems are developed by private companies in the US with government funding, but the DoD controls their sales. Foreign military sales are undertaken after clearance from the Department of State.

The US is steadily emerging as a new supplier of sophisticated arms to India, which urgently needs to replace and augment its mostly outdated Soviet-vintage systems with the high technology weapons of the 21st century.

Only last month, India placed Letters of Request (LoRs), or firm orders, for 10 long-range strategic lift transport Boeing C 17 Globemaster III aircraft for the IAF and 145 Bofors ultra-light M 777 howitzers for mountain operations by the Indian Army.

Originally a Swedish company, Bofors was sold in 2000 to the US United Defense, and later to the US arm of BAE Systems. The Indian army is badly in need of various types of artillery guns and its acquisition process has been mired in one problem or another for years now.

According to Air Marshal Ashok Goel (Retd), India has less than 20 IL 76 heavy lift transport aircraft, and although they have served the IAF well, they would need to be replaced in about ten years or so. In April 2010, the IL squadrons with the IAF will mark their 25 years.

Prins said that Lockheed Martin was also offering the the worlds most advanced ship-borne anti-missile system, Aegis, to India and that presentation on this had also been made to the Indian Navy.

Apparently as a technology demonstration, the US had used the Aegis system to shoot down a satellite in February 2008 by firing a Raytheon SM-2 missile.

India has already acquired 12 artillery Weapon Locating Radars (WLRs) from Raytheon under a 2002 deal, which was actually the first arms transfer to India by the US after its embargos following Indias 1974 and 1998 nuclear tests.

In 2008, IAF placed orders for six Lockheed Martin C 130J Special Operations aircraft, with an option for six more along with training and infrastructure development package.

Prins said that the necessary transfer of equipment and training was under way and that delivery schedule for the aircraft will be adhered to as per the agreement.

The JSF is a fifth-generation aircraft, to be used by the US Air Force, Navy and Marines, and perhaps will be the last manned aircraft by that country before unmanned, high-powered long-range drones and helicopters fully take over the skies by the middle of this century.

Notably, India has already signed an agreement with Russia to develop a fifth generation fighter aircraft and it is due to be inducted into IAF by 2017. It is not known when and if this aircraft will have a naval variant.