Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US scheduled later this week, Lockheed Martin, the world's largest armament company has signed a pact with Tata Advanced Systems to produce the latest version of its F-16 fighter jets in India. Signed at the Paris Air Show, the deal is subject to the condition that the F-16 Block 70 fighter jet emerges victorious in an Indian Air Force competition to feature over 100 single-engine fighters.
Sources from the Ministry of Defence said the “actual deal or contract” for the second assembly line is “still a long way off” since the process for the selection of the Indian private sector firm as the “strategic partner” for production of fighters will itself take “several months” which will be followed by extensive bidding and a heavy negotiation process.
However, the Lockheed-Tata venture has made it clear that the want to “produce, operate and export the F-16 Block 70 aircraft” under the 'Make in India' framework if selected. A joint statement read, “F-16 production in India supports thousands of Lockheed Martin and F-16 supplier jobs in the US, creates new manufacturing jobs in India, and positions the Indian industry at the centre of the most extensive fighter aircraft supply ecosystem in the world. This unprecedented F-16 production partnership between the world's largest defence contractor and India's premier industrial house provides India the opportunity to produce, operate and export F-16 Block 70 aircraft, the newest and most advanced version of the world's most successful, combat-proven multi-role fighter.”
The US itself has not ordered F-16s since 1999, shifting to the advanced fifth generation F-35s, but has exported them to other countries. Of the over 4,500 F-16s manufactured over the years, with production lines in Europe and other countries like Turkey and South Korea apart from the US, around 3,200 are still flown by 26 countries, including Pakistan.
But it is still not clear how Modi's “Make in India“ drive will square with US President Donald Trump`s hard-nosed policy to not allow jobs and factories to be shifted out of America. Lockheed and Tata, on their part, said moving the F-16 production base from Fort Worth in Texas to India would still retain jobs in the US.
