India and U.S. in talks on F-16 jet factory - Lockheed

[WolfPack86]

U.S. defence company Lockheed Martin said on Thursday that talks were taking place between the United States and the Indian government over its offer of setting up a factory to produce F-16 fighter planes in India.

Lockheed is pushing ahead with its proposal to transfer the F-16 production line to India to supply the Indian air force, but it understands that U.S. President Donald Trump's administration may want to take a fresh look at such plans.

"The conversation at this point has progressed between governments," Randall L Howard, Lockheed's head of F-16 business development, told reporters at an air show in the southern Indian city of Bengaluru.

"We have had very strong support up to this point from the U.S. government. We are deferring any concerns over to the two governments as discussions have progressed to the point where requirements need to be more fully articulated," Howard said, adding that Lockheed Martin is fully supportive of those discussions.

Trump's criticism of U.S. auto and drug companies moving manufacturing overseas and then selling goods back to the United States has raised concern over Lockheed's plans, though in this case the factory would supply the Indian military rather than export to the United States.

India's defence ministry issued a request last year asking foreign manufacturers if they were willing to produce a single-engine combat plane in India in collaboration with a local partner as part of the government's drive to build a domestic industrial base and reduce imports.

Sweden's Saab is the other contender, offering to make its Gripen fighter in India.
India's air force desperately needs new planes to replace its ageing fleet of Soviet-origin fighters
http://in.reuters.com/article/airshow-india-lockheed-idINKBN15V1VC

 

[WolfPack86]

"We have had very strong support up to this point from the U.S. government. We are deferring any concerns over to the two governments as discussions have progressed to the point where requirements need to be more fully articulated," Howard said, adding that Lockheed Martin is fully supportive of those discussions.
Prime Minister Modi visiting US in May to meet Trump i hope Prime Minister Modi to clinch F-16 deal with full transfer of technology and exporting F-16 to other countries and giving access to source code, radars and intergrating Indian missiles and Israeli missiles.

 

[WolfPack86]

The possibility of a #F16 factory in #India moves to the G2G stage!
https://twitter.com/hashtag/f16

 

[suny6611]

what all will be " manufactured" in India ?
1) engine ????????????
2) all electronic components ???????
3) software ......... may be .. may be not
4)the fuselage wings tails etc ........... yes

all assembly ...... well ........... thats all being offered in the name of "jet factory"

 

[Kshatriya87]

What's the use? Almost all countries have stopped order for F-16s. This factory won't last for more than 2 years. Then the production will have to stop. What then?

 

[Mikesingh]

What's the use? Almost all countries have stopped order for F-16s. This factory won't last for more than 2 years. Then the production will have to stop. What then?

Remember, the F-16 block 70/72 is spanking new 4++ gen fighter with the latest on board avionics and a situational awareness suite that's leagues ahead of the 4500 F-16s now in air forces around the world. It is also the most cost effective platform compared to the Rafale, EF, Gripen E etc. So there would be a lot of takers for the block 70/72.

 

[Kshatriya87]

Remember, the F-16 block 70/72 is spanking new 4++ gen fighter with the latest on board avionics and a situational awareness suite that's leagues ahead of the 4500 F-16s now in air forces around the world. It is also the most cost effective platform compared to the Rafale, EF, Gripen E etc. So there would be a lot of takers for the block 70/72.

That's better. In that case, we can expect this factory to run at least 10 years.


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[aakash_2410]

That's better. In that case, we can expect this factory to run at least 10 years.


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Even if India only orders 200 planes, it will still run for 10-15 years at 12-18 planes a year.

 

[Kshatriya87]

Even if India only orders 200 planes, it will still run for 10-15 years at 12-18 planes a year.

Don't think India will buy 200 F-16s. We are going for rafales & maybe gripen. Russia is already offering Su-34 to India. Maybe 3 or 4 squads of F-16s is ok but not 200 planes.

 

[raja696]

Recently nato chief urged its allies to buy defence equipment. Its a deperate call if we decode it and a sign that usa defence industry is in huge crisis. India should wait and shouldn't budge under pressures.

Unless India is given a major access to usa defence Technologies in R&D.

And India should not buy f16s and be a sole manufacturer of them to supply nato allies. And take cuts from profits usa and India get through manufacturing.

We should behave like king maker for usa and its allies but should never be dependent on the same tech.

If we are smart we can groom ourselves R&D hub for world.

Of course in case of any threat we can make ourselves cheap flight with same tech in our arsenal.

Pls dont induct f-16s let deal be stalled no problem. The deal has to work our way.

 

[tejas warrior]

IDEX 2017: Future F-16 Fighter Jets To be Made in USA
Our Bureau
11:54 AM, February 22, 2017
198 views

IDEX 2017: Future F-16 Fighter Jets To be Made in USA
- A +
Future customers of F-16 fighter jets will get them shipped from the USA, a Lockheed Martin executive said implying an end to licence-manufacture of the aircraft in foreign countries.

Rick Groesch, Lockheed’s regional vice president, was quoted as saying at the IDEX 2017 show in Abu Dhabi yesterday, "The next customer that we sell F-16 to we will build them in the US."

Lockheed Martin has in the past assembled F-16s in Turkey, Belgium and the Netherlands in the past. However with the arrival of the Trump administration with its focus on keeping American jobs at home, US companies have to rework their export strategies.

The policy shift puts a big questions mark over Lockheed Martin’s and also Boeing’s pitch to manufacture the F-16 and the F/A-18 aircraft in India under the ‘Make in India’ Program. Both companies are in contention to manufacture single engine (F-16) and twin engine (F/A-18) jets in India to meet Indian Air Force requirements as well as to export them from India.

While Lockheed has offered to shift its F-16 plant to India and use up the space to meet growing demand for the F-35, Boeing has offered to set up modern plant in India provided it gets an order for around 100 aircraft.

Lockheed Martin is eyeing to upgrade F-16 aircraft with Middle Eastern customers such as UAE and Egypt besides completing the supply of 5-6 planes out of a 30 aircraft order meant for Iraq.


http://www.defenseworld.net/news/18...6_Fighter_Jets_To_be_Made_in_USA#.WK2UfxnhXqB

 

[Butter Chicken]

bye bye F-16!!!!!!!!!!.....................

 

[ezsasa]

Parrikar in his aero India press conference mentioned that, it is up to the company to convince their respective governments if they want to manufacture in India.

Basically he is saying we want to buy "make in India "products, if you can't it's your loss.

 

[WolfPack86]

Yes it is very good news let now Indian government focus on fast tracking Gripen E fighter through govt to govt deal.

 

[Krusty]

Don't think India will buy 200 F-16s. We are going for rafales & maybe gripen. Russia is already offering Su-34 to India. Maybe 3 or 4 squads of F-16s is ok but not 200 planes.

Question, has IAF or IN showed any interest in the SU34?

 

[Tarun Kumar]

No F16 please. Under Trump, i doubt US will even sell us the engines for LCA. Look at what he is doing with mass deportations. This man is a fascist.

 

[The Last Stand]

What's wrong with Trump deporting ILLEGAL immigrants?

Funny that people can shit all over B'deshis illegally crossing over into India on an online forum but find Trump a 'fascist' and 'literally Hitler' for actually having the balls to do something about the same thing that's happening on a far bigger scale in America.

The media is a scary force.

 

[ezsasa]

No F16 please. Under Trump, i doubt US will even sell us the engines for LCA. Look at what he is doing with mass deportations. This man is a fascist.

Stop watching CNN.......,..............,,

 

[The Last Stand]

Liberal narratives from Late '15 till now

Trump hates Russia and is starting WW3
Trump is an anti-semite (his son-in-law is a Jew and ran the campaign)
"Trump raped a 13-year old (name hidden for confidentialty purposes)" - A week before the election "The victim got bullied into silence by Trump supporters" - Apparently them Trump supporters are telepaths! (Trying to take the heat off of Trump attacking Slick Willy)
Trump supports the KKK (Conveniently ignore Trump's disavowal of Duke in 2000 and again in 2016, twice)
Trump foundation is corrupt (To take heat off of the Clinton Foundation leaks on wikileaks)
Trump is being bribed with Russian money! (His company was using a server that also hosted a Russian bank's website)
Trump is a Russian puppet
Trump is Bannon's puppet
"Trump did this! We don't need evidence to prove it, just trust the CIA" (The Golden Shower)
"Trump only likes one page dossiers with charts - Anonymous source" (Apparently, Trump is childish, and a bunch of memes showing him with his face photoshopped onto a baby made the rounds)
"Trump's taking a vacation twice a week!" (Apparently golfing at his own golf club is now blatant corruption)

I can go on and on about these brilliant pieces of "investigative journalism" (hit-jobs) all corroborated with "evidence" ('Officials speaking on the condition of anonymity said....')

Amazing that some people here can be so distrustful of NDTV et. al but trust CNN, NBC etc, which are the owners?

The man's half-insane, but he played the media for fools, and is keeping every last one of his campaign promises. Within a month.

He's got some bad ideas, sure, but he's not as bad as he's made out to be.

It's shocking when people would rather cheer the CIA establishment over a democratically elected President, because he doesn't give a shit about Big Brother power plays and would rather look inward.

 

[The Last Stand]

Question, has IAF or IN showed any interest in the SU34?

No, India has not shown an interest in buying the 34.

However, lots of people are pushing for it, articles everywhere about it.