MAKE IN INDIA: US OFFERS TO JOINTLY MANUFACTURE FIGHTER JETS WITH INDIA

[Lions Of Punjab]

Will the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter be on the Cards? - Countries like the UK, Germany, Sweden and France, too, are looking to join hands with India to manufacture fighter aircraft

NEW DELHI: The US today offered to produce fighter aircraft jointly with India to promote deeper military ties as it spoke about the Indian Air Force facing a "critical shortage" of front-line fighter jets.
Talking about the new developments in bilateral military ties, the American Ambassador here, Richard Verma, noted that India faces a critical shortage of front-line fighter aircraft for keeping India's air space safe.
"Defence cooperation can help to counter this challenge and I see no reason why the US and India can't produce fighter aircraft together," he said at the Observer Research Foundation here.
Countries like the UK, Germany, Sweden and France, too, are looking to join hands with India to manufacture fighter aircraft as the country faces a depletion of its air strength due to modernisation delays.
Referring to US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter's visit here in June, Verma said both countries had established a new aircraft carrier working group to support India's indigenous program.
"I'm happy to report that the first meeting of that group took place this week in the US," he said.
Verma stressed that US has committed to deepening its maritime security relations with India and, in March and again in April, the leaders of the US and Indian navies met and discussed how to improve maritime domain awareness.
"Now, we are into the planning stage of our 2015 Malabar joint naval exercise. We want to continue this exercise to deepen our maritime security relationship with India," he said.
Referring to the recent "cross border terror attacks," Verma said the US condemns such acts in "the strongest possible terms" and stands with the people of India and all free people in fighting the curse of terrorism.
"There can be no place, no accommodation and no justification for violence on innocent people. As (US) President (Barack) Obama said during his visit to New Delhi, the US and India are united in this fight and the two countries will continue our focus for a better future," Verma said.
Verma said that the way India chooses to define its own world as a leading power can have a profound impact on their shared interests in defending and preserving assured access to shared spaces.
"As the (US) President articulated in his February, 2015, National Security strategy, shared spaces are the arteries of the world economy, a sure access is pre-requisite for the governments of the world to continue to provide their citizens with better standards of living," he said.
The top American diplomat here said he believes that as leading powers, cooperation between the US and India will lay the ground for the next breakthrough in bilateral ties.
"Let's start with the seas, free the sea for everyone; It has been a foundational argument for naval freedom. 90 per cent of the trade worldwide operates on the oceans.
"Our oil, fuels, imports and exports depend on the safe passage of cargo ... but, today, the safety and security of sea (commerce) faces a genuine threat from terrorists, natural environmental disruptions, mass migrations and organised criminal activities," he said.
Piracy on the high seas continues to create uncertainties, Verma said, adding that world powers have stood up and worked to address these concerns with the US and India often at the forefront of such efforts.
"We are both maritime powers, our navies engage in joint training and exercises as partners, our leaders have expressed an interest to work together in both the US-India joint statement and US-India defence agreement.
"We demonstrated it in the case of Somalia in 2009, but we can do more," he said.
Verma added that as natural disasters may also affect the maritime domain, India and the US, being leading powers, must be prepared to deal with such phenomena. The US ambassador said that India has proven herself in this regard in 2004, when it immediately responded to the devastation caused by the tsunami, saving thousands of lives in south and south-east Asia.
"There are thousands of other examples of India's humanitarian disaster response capability," he said.

Added link: http://www.financialexpress.com/art...-jointly-make-fighter-jets-with-india/119537/

 

[tejas warrior]

Which fighter is on offer ?

Is it F-16 / F-18 ?

 

[rohit.gr77]

Maybe this a sales pitch for F-35 again.

 

[Zebra]

@ sob

what about the aircraft Boeing was pitching when they lost out to LM with F 35.
Boeing has spent lot of money on it and would be interested to recoup some investment.

But not impossible and the only viable alternate at this moment.

If we are talking about 5th generation American aircraft, then what is wrong with F-35...!

....................................................................................

 

[Rowdy]

Sure we'd love to make in India with americans......lets make jet engines together for AMCA in a JV (like Brahmos).

 

[Sylex21]

This should be seen as a victory. Co-development of a 5th/6th generation fighter jet with the united states would be a game changer. Just the fact the the arrogant USA is willing to do something like this with India is a huge sign of how India's importance and power has grown in the eyes of the United States. India should find some way to at least develop a small number with the USA and further build and improve this connection.

Basically this is a a message from the USA. We are offering to match what Russia offers you, in the hopes you will lean on towards our side. Well I say lets make connections with both sides.

 

[Rowdy]

This should be seen as a victory. Co-development of a 5th/6th generation fighter jet with the united states would be a game changer. Just the fact the the arrogant USA is willing to do something like this with India is a huge sign of how India's importance and power has grown in the eyes of the United States. India should find some way to at least develop a small number with the USA and further build and improve this connection.

Basically this is a a message from the USA. We are offering to match what Russia offers you, in the hopes you will lean on towards our side. Well I say lets make connections with both sides.

They want us to turn screwdriver with them for F16

 

[ezsasa]

We can erase LCA from our memories, if Americans start manufacturing planes in india.

 

[sob]

We can erase LCA from our memories, if Americans start manufacturing planes in india.

LCA is looking more and more like a still born baby and we are making futile attempts to revive it.

 

[ezsasa]

LCA is looking more and more like a still born baby and we are making futile attempts to revive it.

Or solution to the problem is to give the manufacturing contract to a company with Indian-American JV. Condition that indigenous content is no less than 80%. And most importantly keep HAL out of production line.

 

[salute]

And most importantly keep HAL out of production line.

hal is useless enough of its bs,it should be sold to private companys and its experienced techies or engineers,management people should be hired by those private companys,

where they can continue working on dhruv,rudra,lch,lca or amca,
otherwise these aircraft may get thrown away like marut.

 

[Srinivas_K]

We can erase LCA from our memories, if Americans start manufacturing planes in india.

No LCA will be there .... these are stop gap requirements to boost the strength of IAF.

 

[ezsasa]

No LCA will be there .... these are stop gap requirements to boost the strength of IAF.

Yup, I have moved on from my own argument. Now I am saying Americans can be part of the program as manufacturing partners.

 

[Adioz]

This should be seen as a victory. Co-development of a 5th/6th generation fighter jet with the united states would be a game changer. Just the fact the the arrogant USA is willing to do something like this with India is a huge sign of how India's importance and power has grown in the eyes of the United States. India should find some way to at least develop a small number with the USA and further build and improve this connection.

Basically this is a a message from the USA. We are offering to match what Russia offers you, in the hopes you will lean on towards our side. Well I say lets make connections with both sides.

You said it yourself : "We are offering to match what Russia offers you, in the hopes you will lean on towards our side."
But not entirely right:- If we co-develop fighters, it is a known fact that T.O.T. will only be nominal. Who knows when they might withdraw technical support as part of sanctions on Indian military to make us follow their political aim? If we buy U.S. hardware, there is no significant T.O.T. and you are forced to join the U.S. allied forces, damn the political views and objectives of your own country. We can not become a global lieutenant of the U.S.A.

 

[Srinivas_K]

You said it yourself : "We are offering to match what Russia offers you, in the hopes you will lean on towards our side."
But not entirely right:- If we co-develop fighters, it is a known fact that T.O.T. will only be nominal. Who knows when they might withdraw technical support as part of sanctions on Indian military to make us follow their political aim? If we buy U.S. hardware, there is no significant T.O.T. and you are forced to join the U.S. allied forces, damn the political views and objectives of your own country. We can not become a global lieutenant of the U.S.A.

That is not going to happen. We have Russia, France, Eurofighter and USA, we can choose the one who gives a better deal. They are also talking about Air craft carrier technologies.

 

[Bangalorean]

Definitely a good beginning, but joint manufacturing can never happen with the likes of HAL, NAL and DRDO. They don't have the manpower quality, resource quality, management skills or competence to work on something of this nature.

It needs a gigantic PPP, well-funded by a consortium of banks, to even get this off the drawing board.

 

[sathya]

It would have been more realistic if F16 picture is posted instead of F35.
USA ain't letting anyone make F35

 

[ezsasa]

It would have been more realistic if F16 picture is posted instead of F35.
USA ain't letting anyone make F35

This concept is called "Advertising".......:bounce:

 

[PaliwalWarrior]

This should be seen as a victory. Co-development of a 5th/6th generation fighter jet with the united states would be a game changer. Just the fact the the arrogant USA is willing to do something like this with India is a huge sign of how India's importance and power has grown in the eyes of the United States. India should find some way to at least develop a small number with the USA and further build and improve this connection.

Basically this is a a message from the USA. We are offering to match what Russia offers you, in the hopes you will lean on towards our side. Well I say lets make connections with both sides.

it is jointly manufacture

not jointly research & develop

 

[Lions Of Punjab]

http://idrw.org/the-f-16in-super-viper-could-get-another-shot-with-the-indian-air-force/

The F-16IN Super Viper Could Get Another Shot with the Indian Air Force

According to The Indian Express, the United States has extended an offer to India to jointly produce a line of fighter jets to both enhance military ties as well as provide for India’s frontline fighter fleet shortage. This comes right after the Indian government announced that the MMRCA (Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft) deal, originally signed with France’s Dassault Aviation, was, for all intents and purposes, over.

Bumps, missteps and poor communication contributed to the downfall of the contract which would have seen a set of Rafales built in France to Indian specifications, while the remaining number of jets to be procured in the deal would be built under license in India.

So that means India will soon be back on the market, looking for another multi-role fighter to fulfill its needs for another fifteen to twenty years while it works on developing its own indigenous stealth fighter program and makes the best of the mess that is the Sukhoi/HAL FGFA, the joint Russian-Indian derivative of the PAK FA/T-50 stealth fighter prototype.

Among the many offers tendered to India during the MMRCA competition was one from Lockheed Martin, featuring a heavily-updated version of one of the most successful fighter aircraft in history- the F-16 Fighting Falcon. Designated the F-16IN Super Viper, Lockheed Martin went as far as to call it “the most advanced F-16 ever”.

The integration of fifth-generation technology into the fourth-generation platform is pretty much what makes an already-potent fighter an even more potent air-to-air and air-to-ground killer. Using the Block 60 configuration as the base to work off of, Lockheed Martin added a number of upgrades to beef up the Fighting Falcon into the Super Viper.

The most powerful upgrade comes in the form of the AN/APG-80 AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Array) radar system, which is already in service with the United Arab Emirates’ Block 60 Desert Falcons. The AN/APG-80 gives the pilot incredible situational awareness and the ability to target and track in any weather/atmospheric condition with stunning precision. An infrared search and track (IRST) system, the ability to integrate the Indian Air Force’s Operational Data Link (which allows for interoperability with other Indian fighter/attack/AWACS/support units), an onboard electronic warfare suite from Raytheon, and an upgraded modular mission computer add to the F-16IN’s sizable resume.

The cockpit has been redeveloped to an extent, with three color high-definition MFDs (main flight displays) feeding the pilot everything he needs to know, as well as the ability to integrate the Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS). An updated General Electric F110-132A functions as the sole powerplant, able to output over 32,000 pounds of thrust, and the Super Viper also carries conformal fuel tanks (CFTs) with a built-in fuel probe, designed to mate with the basket/drogue refueling system used by Indian aerial tankers, instead of the boom/receptacle system commonly used by American F-16s.

In terms of producing the fighters themselves, it wouldn’t be the first time the F-16 was built outside the United States. Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) was responsible for building over 300 Vipers under license for but the Turkish Air Force and the Egyptian Air Force from the late 1980s onward. Additionally, Korean Aerospace Industries also built a production line for the KF-16, outputting 140 Block 52 Vipers within ten years.

Hypothetically, an Indian F-16 line would be the sixth such line in the F-16’s history. The F-16IN was originally eliminated from MMRCA contention in 2011, apparently due to a slower turning rate and diminished agility with conformal fuel tanks loaded. However, given the Fighting Falcon’s track record and combat history, as well as the kickass price tag ($50 million USD/unit) that comes with such a deal (when contrasting it with other comparable fighters sold en masse within the same program parameters), it wouldn’t be the worst thing for the Indian Air Force to give Lockheed Martin’s F-16IN Super Viper another long hard look