$9 billion lotto for Defense Manufacturers in the Indian skies!

Last updated on: September 10, 2006 at 12:34 pm by Desh Kapoor

$9 billion lotto for Defense Manufacturers in the Indian skies! 2006-09-10T12:34:29-05:00 Desh Kapoor

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

$9 billion are at stake in the Indian Air. The Indian Airforce is going in for a massive overhaul of its aging MiG aircrafts. And that means that everybody and his brother who manufacters defence aircrafts from US to Germany to France to Russia are in the loop! And guys its kickback time again!!

New Delhi’s plan to buy 126 multi-role combat aircraft for the Indian Air Force (IAF), replacing the ageing Russian MiG fleet, has leading global defence vendors from Moscow to Seattle, Paris to San Diego readying their best offers to bag a share in the estimated $9-billion order, the biggest in over a decade for the small world of fighter jet makers.

Leading the fray are MiG (short for Mikoyan Gurevich), with its MiG 35, and Boeing’s F-18 Super Hornet fighter, closely followed by Lockheed Martin marketing its F-16F Desert Falcon, Germany’s Typhoon of Eurofighter and the French Rafale. This is the first time US fighter jet vendors are participating in an Indian order. Feeding the rush is IAF’s clear intention to wrap up this giant order – key to the force because the new fighters will form the backbone of the service for two to three decades – through a fast-track procurement policy before the end of March 2007.

According to chief of air staff Air Marshal S P Tyagi, the IAF will float a request for proposals (RFP) for the fighter jets “very soon” and suppliers be given six months time to close the deal. Once the choice is finalised, the first lot of about 20 jets would be acquired within 42 to 54 months, and the rest would be made in India.

Under the new guidelines, 30% of the total cost of any deal worth over $70 million will be used as ‘offsets’, which means that the foreign vendor will have to buy defence or procure other specified equipment locally from Indian suppliers.

With this offset clause, manufacturers, including Boeing, EADS and Lockheed Martin, moved in to develop their activities in India only last fortnight. Boeing, which is offering its F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, plans to set up a $100 million maintenance, repair and overhaul facility in Maharashtra, while EADS has promised a training and engineering operations in a yet-to-be-decided Indian location.

Boeing has, for the first time, entered into a “dialogue” with the IAF on the innumerable options it has to offer, Chris Chadwick, vice-president of its F/A-18 programme, told FE. Chadwick adds that the Hornet Industrial Team (GE, Raytheon and Northrop) are exploring investment opportunities in military, biotech, IT and aerospace sectors in India.

Lockheed Martin plans to partner Indian companies this year to meet its offset requirements, say its officials. “We are anxious to get on and compete,” says Royce Caplinger, managing director of Lockheed Martin. “The

IAF has the Mirage and MiG-29 in its inventory and likes them, but the F-16 represents the latest and greatest the US has to offer. The platform may be old but the technology, weapon systems and cockpit are the latest.”

India

Politics

Previous Post

September 10, 2006

Chandamama: the magazine that nurtured India's Young Minds turns 60

Next Post

September 10, 2006 Malegaon Blasts: Triggers of Violence that became the Glue of communal harmony!

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Aarti Achievement and Leadership AfPak Africa Annual and Year-end Asia Audio Australia Behavioural Sciences Bhagwad Gita Bhagwad Gita Blogging Blogs Business Business Intelligence Business Strategy Cannes Careers Chanakya China Conservation Corruption Creative Daily Links Desh Poems Development & Welfare Devotional Audio Devotional Songs Drama Earth Economics Education Entertainment Environment Europe Everyday Quotes Featured Articles Featured Songs Finance Flickr Pictures Food Geo-Political Global Warming Globalization Health & Medicine Hinduism Historic History Humour India Indian Culture Indian music Indian Weddings Israel Issues Legal Link Love Minorities Misc Motivation and Personal Development Movie Lists Movie Reviews Movies Mumbai terror attacks Natural Disasters Nature News Outsourcing Pakistan Parenting Personal Philosophy Poetry Politics Poverty Quotes Recipe Regular Blog Post Relationships Religion Religious/Spiritual Audio Sciences Showcase Slideshow South Asia Special Stories Spiritual Quotes Spirituality Sports Stories Strategy Technology Technology Terrorism Travel Uncategorized US Video Women Women_s Rights Worship Yoga

Select a Month December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 June 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 September 2014 August 2014 January 2014 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which New Testament book has the most Old Testament quotes?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Matthew Hebrews Romans Revelation