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Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) may offer its latest F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to India in a bid to rejoin the Asian country's $11 billion combat-jet contest after the older F-16 model was eliminated earlier in the evaluation process.
Lockheed's chances of offering the F-35 for the 126-plane order were boosted when the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee last week asked the Defense Department to study by November the "desirability and feasibility" of a future JSF sale to India, Patrick Dewar, senior vice president for corporate strategy and business development, said in an interview at the Paris Air Show.
The Senate 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 contents of the Senate report, due to be published this week, couldn't immediately be confirmed.
Dewar said the Senate 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 JSF is produced, and Joseph Lieberman, Independent of Connecticut, home to United Technologies Corp., which makes the plane's engines.
Cornyn's spokeswoman Jessica Sandlin confirmed in an e-mail that the panel "overwhelmingly adopted" the India-F-35 language.
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 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 stealthy jet become available.
Admitting the JSF to the bidding at this stage would be "contrary" to India's established weapons-acquisition procedure, said Mrinal Suman, an arms-procurement adviser at the Confederation of Indian Industry. "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.
Lockheed May Pitch F-35 to Rejoin $11 Billion India Jet Bids - Bloomberg
Lockheed's chances of offering the F-35 for the 126-plane order were boosted when the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee last week asked the Defense Department to study by November the "desirability and feasibility" of a future JSF sale to India, Patrick Dewar, senior vice president for corporate strategy and business development, said in an interview at the Paris Air Show.
The Senate 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 contents of the Senate report, due to be published this week, couldn't immediately be confirmed.
Dewar said the Senate 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 JSF is produced, and Joseph Lieberman, Independent of Connecticut, home to United Technologies Corp., which makes the plane's engines.
Cornyn's spokeswoman Jessica Sandlin confirmed in an e-mail that the panel "overwhelmingly adopted" the India-F-35 language.
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 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 stealthy jet become available.
Admitting the JSF to the bidding at this stage would be "contrary" to India's established weapons-acquisition procedure, said Mrinal Suman, an arms-procurement adviser at the Confederation of Indian Industry. "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.
Lockheed May Pitch F-35 to Rejoin $11 Billion India Jet Bids - Bloomberg