BY : PTI



In a major move, the United States has sent feelers that it is now ready for transfer of hi-technology weaponry to India, including its 5th generation Joint Strike Fighter F-35.

Though Pentagon has offered New Delhi participation in its missile shield, top of the shelf 4th generation F-16 and F-18/A fighters, weapon locating radars and its new brand of long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft, it has so far kept the F-35 under wraps.

But in a surprise move last week, a high-level team from US Defence Major, Lockheed Martin, met top officials of the Indian Air Force to convey that the F-35 Ligthening-II was available for IAF's 5th generation fighter requirements.

Lockheed Martin's Vice-President for Business Development, Rob Weiss, said after the meeting that they had indicated that the F-35 was ready to be in reckoning for India's fighter needs beyond the induction of the 126 Multi-Role Combat Aircraft.

The offer would come in handy for India as the country's security experts have been struggling to find partners to develop futuristic 5th generation fighters.

Though New Delhi has been in negotiation with Moscow for joint development and joint investment in next generation fighters, the Russian concepts of such fighters is currently only on the drawing board.

Americans embarked on development of the F-35 in early 2000, with an intial cost outlay of US$ 50 billion along with close strategic partners. The first of these new generation fighters are likly to be inducted into the US Air Force by the end of 2009, or in early 2010.

"In the next few years, a number of countries are joining the F-35 programme and the Indian Air Force could also consider joining," Weiss said. "We briefed top IAF officials about the new fighters."

With embedded antennas, aligned edges, internal weapons and fuel and special coatings and material, the F-35 fighter uses stealth to pick and choose engagements while reaming undetected by enemy defence systems.

Weiss said the F-35 fighters boast of the most powerful sensor suite ever to be fitted on a fighter plane which will enable it to bring a seamless real world and real time 360 degree display of the battlespace to turn the pilots into "tacticians rather than technicians."

Lockheed Martin officials said if new countries joined the F-35 programme, the US could be open to delivery of new generation fighters within the next decade.

They said if the IAF chose the Lockheed Martin world's best-selling fighter F-16 'Fighting Falcons', it could "position India to be ready to receive advanced technologies incorporated in the F-35's."

Lockheed Martin officials said lot of new technolgies being tested on F-35 would be leveraged in the new generation F-16 Block 50 fighters.

On India's decision to raise the offset limit in purchase of the 126 new fighters to 50 per cent, Weiss said his company was confident of meeting this target.

"Our company has a history of success in offsets having met requirements totalling US$ 40 billion of 37 countries," Lockheed vice-president said.

He also said his company was ready to support IAF's life cycle needs and for technology transfer. "The 'Fighting Falcons' are now being produced in five countries."

On the proposed sale of six C130J transport aircraft to India for use by special forces, the Lockheed Martin official said a letter of agreement was expected to be signed by the end of this year.

"It is a Government-to-Government sale," Weiss said, adding that the deliveries of the aircraft would start 30 months after the contract was signed and first deliveries would be by 2011.

Weiss said that the company's long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft 'P3C Orions' had dropped off from the Indian Navy's Request for Proposals.