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Lockheed May Pitch F-35 to Rejoin $11 Billion India Jet Contest

This is interesting news. Just some time back, there was news of India's tri-services strike force planning to acquire 40 fighter planes capable of delivering nuclear weapons.

http://www.defence.pk/forums/india-...su-35-bm-stratageic-forces-command-india.html

Now, news of F-35 being offered to India!!!! Gives one lot to think about.

It was a long time before when SFC asked for 40 jets.

We dont need F-35 for SFC as a fighter can deliver nukes. F-35 is a strike aircraft and accuracy is not needed for nuking on site.
 
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Waiting for JSF will further delay the MRCA induction. Lockheed Martin and Boeing are extra excited about the deal. If LM wants to win the deal they should have offered F-35 two years ago and they must aware of ToT wrt the MRCA. Its very important. Will USG allow ToT as well as source code for F-35? I think no.
 
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Lockheed May Tempt India With Stealth F-35 - Bloomberg

Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) may offer its latest F-35 stealth fighter jet to India in a bid to rejoin the Asian country’s $11 billion combat-jet competition after the company’s older F-16 model was eliminated.

Lockheed’s chances of offering the F-35 for the 126-plane order were boosted last week when the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee asked the Defense Department to study the “desirability and feasibility” of a joint strike fighter sale to India, said Patrick Dewar, senior vice president for corporate strategy and business development, in an interview at the Paris Air Show.

The Senate committee report accompanying the Pentagon’s 2012 budget “opens the window to fifth-generation fighter technology release to India, however the Indian services want to deal with it,” Dewar said.

The Senate committee request for a Pentagon study on selling F-35s to India was part of a broader amendment on U.S.- India military ties offered by Senators John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, where the fighter is produced, and Joseph Lieberman, independent of Connecticut, home to United Technologies Corp. (UTX), which makes the plane’s engines.

Cornyn’s spokeswoman, Jessica Sandlin, said the amendment was “overwhelmingly adopted” by the Senate defense panel. Cornyn is the co-founder and co-chairman of the Senate India Caucus. The provision is a so-called “Item of Special Interest” that takes effect immediately after the bill report is issued. It doesn’t need House approval and “takes effect regardless of what happens to the bill itself,” she said.

MiG-Replacement

Lockheed’s F-16, based on a 30-year-old design, was eliminated in April from the six-way Indian contest to replace its aging fleet of 1970s-era MiG-21s, along with Boeing Co. (BA)’s F/A-18 Super Hornet. On the shortlist are Dassault Aviation SA (AM)’s Rafale and the Eurofighter made by BAE Systems Plc, Finmeccanica SpA (FNC) and European Aeronautic, Defense & Space Co.

The competition is one of the largest in recent years and also attracted bids from Russia’s OAO United Aircraft Corp. and Sweden’s Saab AB (SAABB), which offered the Gripen. President Barack Obama had lobbied on behalf of Bethesda, Maryland-based Lockheed and Chicago-based Boeing.

“I certainly believe it’s possible,” Dewar said when asked if the potential F-35 offer could lead to the Indian Air Force reopening the contest. India “might think differently about the competition” should the stealth jet become available.

‘Succumbing’ to U.S. Pressure

Admitting the joint strike fighter to the bidding at this stage would be “contrary” to India’s weapons-acquisition procedure, said Mrinal Suman, an arms-procurement adviser at the Confederation of Indian Industry in New Delhi. “It’s too late in the day,” he said. “It would be seen by many as succumbing to U.S. pressure.”

Indian defense ministry spokesman Sitanshu Kar couldn’t be reached for comment.

The Senate defense panel’s request to study the F-35 sale to India was part of a broader provision that would require the Obama administration to prepare a “detailed assessment of the current state of U.S.-India security cooperation.” The bill seeks a five-year plan for more joint military exercises, defense trade and support for India’s military modernization, homeland security and coastal defense, and maintenance of secure sea lanes of communication.

T-38 Partnership

The lawmakers also asked the Pentagon to study the possibility of a U.S.-India partnership for development of a replacement for the U.S. Air Force’s T-38 trainer jet. The planes, built by Northrop Grumman Corp. (NOC)’s predecessor, have been in use since the 1960s.

India has bought several U.S.-made weapon systems, including C-130J transports made by Lockheed, and on June 15 signed an order for 10 C-17 transport planes made by Boeing valued at about $4 billion.

The F-35 jet is still in development. At an estimated $382 billion, it’s the Pentagon’s most expensive weapons program. The U.S. Government Accountability Office has said the planes cost about $133 million each in today’s dollars. The Pentagon plans to buy more than 2,400.

Buying F-35s at $133 million each would boost India’s cost in acquiring 126 fighters by about 50 percent, from a currently estimated $11 billion to almost $17 billion.

Future-Generation Aircraft

In April, when India shortlisted the European jet makers, V.K. Kapoor, a retired lieutenant general in India’s military, said the choice was driven by technical merits.

“It was a by-the-book technical assessment that the American F-16 and F/A-18, despite their upgrades, are not future-generation aircraft,” Kapoor said in April. “They can remain current for another five or 10 years, but this deal is going to determine the operational capacity of our air force for the next 30 years.”

India’s arms-buying process has been slowed by officials’ sensitivities over corruption scandals in previous purchases, including one that helped drive Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s Congress Party to defeat in 1989 elections, according to Rahul Roy-Chaudhury, senior fellow for South Asia at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London.

Singh’s government already has seen its legislative program stalled by opposition protests over alleged official corruption in the sale of telecommunications licenses and in last year’s staging of the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi.
 
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I mean this is laughable, LM didnt know that India wont buy F16 bk60?, They were very much aware that these plans will be rejected (F-18 had a good chance though). I still wonder what was the reason behin offering F-16..

It has hurt LM's ego badly coz they are out of the competition...they will offer the best.

But..again.....REJECTED is the word.
 
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I mean this is laughable, LM didnt know that India wont buy F16 bk60?, They were very much aware that these plans will be rejected (F-18 had a good chance though). I still wonder what was the reason behin offering F-16..

It has hurt LM's ego badly coz they are out of the competition...they will offer the best.

But..again.....REJECTED is the word.

I mean i know all the "package" that comes with Americans but do u not see any kind of role for these babes in our air force?? I just want to know if there is any realistic purpose for them.
 
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F35s are way superior to EF/Rafeal. is the ToT from EF/Rafael really worth it?

think hard on this india.
 
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F35s are way superior to EF/Rafeal. is the ToT from EF/Rafael really worth it?

think hard on this india.

Thought....... Its really really worth it .
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If the Lockheed & US pitch for F-35 as second attempt and yet again gets rejected, will it be double embarrasment and double dissapointment ?:what:
 
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I mean i know all the "package" that comes with Americans but do u not see any kind of role for these babes in our air force?? I just want to know if there is any realistic purpose for them.

Even today - whether there is a use for these birds or not, offensive weapons from US is a big no. You can seee us buying C17 but not any F-18, though IAF chief candidly admitted that US fighters had the best of radars and avionics. Thats one point.

These are deep penetration fighters and thats why they have very sophisticated radars and situational awareness systems. The only place they will fit is SFC role. However there is a problem.

1. I personally dont like SFC fighters to be different than MRCA, SU30 or PAKFA as these are easily detectable, means the enemy will attack those sites first if there is a preemptive strike.
2. Logistical challenges if F-35 comes to SFC.
3. You are going use these fighters for nuke delivery, I bet US fighters are not good for these purpose as they will come with strings, in case we disclose that these are for SFC.

There are many more reasons..

4. Last but not the least, we need fighters to augment the air superiority fighters we have (MKIs). for this role MRCA by Rafale and EFT are best suited. They can carry a lot of weight, low RCS and easy for multirole purposes.

To be continued..
 
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F-35 is not worth. Our need is immediate and not by 2018-2020 onwards.

Rafale/ET will fulfil the requirement along with Sukhoi 30MKI with Brahmos + Tejas + MIG 29 + Mirage 2000 till 2020

After 2020, We will have PAK FA / FGFA. So Why F-35?. Also our AMCA will be waste once we focus on F-35 now.
 
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first we should induct rafale and then we should think about f 35.
 
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