Lockheed submits proposal to supply F-21s to Air Force; to source heavily locally if wins bid

[Zapper]

American aerospace major Lockheed Martin has submitted a proposal evincing preliminary interest to supply F-21 fighter jets to the Air Force and winning the bid may result in it working with 400 local companies, a senior official has said.

The American company, which has a decade-long partnership with the Tatas on defence manufacturing, is also working on manufacturing the wings for its F-16 fighters from their JV plant in Hyderabad from and has started work on a prototype, which will enable it to supply to the world soon, its vice president for strategy and business development Vivek Lall told .

The Air Force had sought request for information from vendors from across the world to supply 114 modern fighter planes, in a contract that is pegged at USD 18 billion.

The American company is reported to be competing with Boeing, French company Dassault, and the Russian MiG 35.

About the possible offset clauses and the benefits that will accrue to the Air Force, Lall said the contract is under the strategic partnership model and pointed to his company's association with the Tatas.

"The F-21 programme is a very strategic win-win for both the counties. It gets India an entirely different aerospace ecosystem. We have talked to and evaluated 400 companies in India, both public and private, and that is the kind of infrastructure that will be needed to support this," he said.

It can be noted that aircraft manufacturers depend on a lot of vendors to supply components creating an entire downstream ecosystem.

The next stage in the procurement will be filing of an expression of interest, he said, indicating the company is keen to go ahead on the same.

Lall said the F-21 will come with an India-unique electronic warfare suite, a single engine that reduces the costs and also capacity to carry 40 percent more weaponry.

He also welcomed the recent warmth in the Indo-US relations, saying it is a win-win for both the sides which will help businesses forge partnerships.

The growth enhancing measures on taxation will be of particular help for local manufacturing, Lall said, but added that the company has no plans for investments into manufacturing in India.

He said the facility at the Tatas employs 1,000 people in Hyderabad at present and there is no reason why the same should not grow if the ties expand

https://economictimes.indiatimes.co...-locally-if-wins-bid/articleshow/71362189.cms

 

[Haris Ali2140]

@Zapper What do you think will LM win the bid???

 

[Zapper]

@Zapper What do you think will LM win the bid???

There would be no MMRCA 2.0 in the first place as some people are speculating. Even if that goes through, it would simply take a decade for IAF to finalize a vendor which is enough time for all IAF & MoD's top brass to receive their kickbacks given the scale of the tender by which most countries would've moved onto 5th gen

IMO, IAF might go for 2 more squadrons of Rafales and if IN decides to opt for Rafale-M's for IAC-3 (54 required), we might negotiate for localized production with ToT and sourcing from local vendors

We're well aware of the strings attached to F-21 and also what Pak and other countries like Turkey have been facing with the US. There is a high chance spares or supply of other components might be put off if we go against their interests

 

[Haris Ali2140]

There would be no MMRCA 2.0 in the first place as some people are speculating. Even if that goes through, it would simply take a decade for IAF to finalize a vendor which is enough time for all IAF & MoD's top brass to receive their kickbacks given the scale of the tender

IMO, IAF might go for 2 more squadrons of Rafales and if IN decides to opt for Rafale-M's for IAC-3 (54 required), we might negotiate for localized production with ToT and sourcing from local vendors

We're well aware of the strings attached to F-21 and also what Pak and other countries like Turkey have been facing with the US. There is a high chance spares or supply of other components might be put off if we go against their interests

So no US fighters.

 

[cloud4000]

Here we have LM aggressively trying to sell India F-21s while there are threads on PDF where Pakistan fanboys are having wet dreams about getting hold of new (and used) F-16s.

 

[waqasmwi]

So no US fighters.

India will have to surrender s400 deal to get this. And I think it's never gonna happen.

 

[Zapper]

India will have to surrender s400 deal to get this. And I think it's never gonna happen.

India has already inked the S400 deal and we're well aware of the risks in procuring major US weapons systems, particularly for our frontline fighters. We might as well go for additional Rafales

https://www.deccanherald.com/national/amid-us-pressure-india-inks-s-696310.html

 

[Water Car Engineer]

There would be no MMRCA 2.0 in the first place as some people are speculating. Even if that goes through, it would simply take a decade for IAF to finalize a vendor which is enough time for all IAF & MoD's top brass to receive their kickbacks given the scale of the tender by which most countries would've moved onto 5th gen

IMO, IAF might go for 2 more squadrons of Rafales and if IN decides to opt for Rafale-M's for IAC-3 (54 required), we might negotiate for localized production with ToT and sourcing from local vendors

We're well aware of the strings attached to F-21 and also what Pak and other countries like Turkey have been facing with the US. There is a high chance spares or supply of other components might be put off if we go against their interests

It's not some speculation. The user(IAF), industry/OEM, and MoD are behind this program. HAL controls the lead integration role of LCA, Mark2 variants, AMCA. The production will not be fast enough for the users needs for some time. They have too much on their plate, another defence aerospace production plant is needed apart from HAL. That needs to be established in the private sector. Gripen E and F21 will provide that.

 

[Zapper]

It's not some speculation. The user(IAF), industry/OEM, and MoD are behind this program. HAL controls the lead integration role of LCA, Mark2 variants, AMCA. The production will not be fast enough for the users needs for some time. They have too much on their plate, another defence aerospace production plant is needed apart from HAL. That needs to be established in the private sector. Gripen E and F21 will provide that.

MoD and IAF have been on it since the past 15 years but of no avail. LCA-Mk2, MCA and AMCA wouldn't see light anytime in the next 5 years but there is a possibility some test flights may happen in the next decade for the Mk-2. Also, even if all goes well and IAF selects another fighter...it would be either Gripen or F21 but not both, it might go for additional Rafales as well

 

[Furious]

MoD and IAF have been on it since the past 15 years but of no avail. LCA-Mk2, MCA and AMCA wouldn't see light anytime in the next 5 years but there is a possibility some test flights may happen in the next decade for the Mk-2. Also, even if all goes well and IAF selects another fighter...it would be either Gripen or F21 but not both, it might go for additional Rafales as well

Its always a hyperbolic curve in aerospace industry. It takes a lot of time to get going and reach a maturity level to progress faster. So let DRDO and ADA nd HAL mature their technologies and build small batches of LCA mk2. I am sure the AMCA will be quicker in progress than tejas. Only a handful of countries can make their own fighter jet.

 

[Zapper]

Its always a hyperbolic curve in aerospace industry. It takes a lot of time to get going and reach a maturity level to progress faster. So let DRDO and ADA nd HAL mature their technologies and build small batches of LCA mk2. I am sure the AMCA will be quicker in progress than tejas. Only a handful of countries can make their own fighter jet.

I agree with you but these govt research orgs should also welcome the participation of private firms and educational/research institutions across India. Most PSUs are filled with incompetent employees who are there only because of reservations. Why do you think OFB and other DPSU employees are protesting against privatization even when reports show they've been posting huge losses since the past couple of decades!!

 

[Furious]

I agree with you but these govt research orgs should also welcome the participation of private firms and educational/research institutions across India. Most PSUs are filled with incompetent employees who are there only because of reservations. Why do you think OFB and other DPSU employees are protesting against privatization even when reports show they've been posting huge losses since the past couple of decades!!

Dont worry, they have finally understood and for MWF and AMCA private companies are being roped in. Also the method of development has been tweaked. The prototypes will be created while development and not at the end of the process, and thus saving a lot of time. I think we just need to pump in adequate amount of resources and stop giving them shoe string budget to give us the best tech. Every time jugaad is not the way to go.
OFB's are leeches leeching off of Indian tax payers. GoI just go ahead with privatization.

 

[Water Car Engineer]

MoD and IAF have been on it since the past 15 years but of no avail. LCA-Mk2, MCA and AMCA wouldn't see light anytime in the next 5 years but there is a possibility some test flights may happen in the next decade for the Mk-2. Also, even if all goes well and IAF selects another fighter...it would be either Gripen or F21 but not both, it might go for additional Rafales as well

Yeah, the last government, but this is the a new government, they had their own program which was scrapped. This program is one of the new governments priorities. And it needs to happen. HAL will not push out these birds fast enough for the requirement, another production plant is needed. Now, they could've made Tejas Mark 2, AMCA under another lead integrator, but that's not happening, HAL has all eggs in it's basket - which is never a good thing. F21, or Gripen can definitely win this program. Another defence aerospace ecosystem run by the likes of TATA, Adani, etc. need to happen.

 

[Zapper]

Yeah, the last government, but this is the a new government, they had their own program which was scrapped. This program is one of the new governments priorities. And it needs to happen. HAL will not push out these birds fast enough for the requirement, another production plant is needed. Now, they could've made Tejas Mark 2, AMCA under another lead integrator, but that's not happening, HAL has all eggs in it's basket - which is never a good thing. F21, or Gripen can definitely win this program. Another defence aerospace ecosystem run by the likes of TATA, Adani, etc. need to happen.

Now that the Su-30 line will be idle, we might tweak it to suit the LCA to increase it's production rate

 

[Mav3rick]

With the terms that India sets, such as localized production line and ToT, I wonder why we couldn't do the same. Why could we not buy a 100+ F-16's and thereby compel LM to invest here so that 50%-60% of the amount stays in the country thereby not only providing us superior technology, thousands of jobs and a great fighter jet.

And the best part is that the Government's share has to be minimal because the above could be public/private ventures, the investment I mean. Government just buys the final product at the lowest cost possible.