WASHINGTON – American aerospace and defence major Lockheed Martin hasproposed to manufacture custom-built F-35 fighter jets in India, which itsofficials say will give Indian industry a unique opportunity to become partof the world’s largest fighter aircraft ecosystem.
“We plan to introduce two new words into the lexicon of internationalfighter aircraft manufacturing – ‘India’ and ‘exclusive’,” Vivek Lall, vicepresident, strategy and business development, at Lockheed MartinAeronautics told PTIin an interview.
“India-specific state-of-the-art fighter production in India will beexclusive, something that has never before been presented by any otherfighter aircraft manufacturer, past or present. There will also be asignificant export market available for Indian-made fighters,” he said.
Lall, an Indian American who last year was instrumental in the decision ofthe Trump administration to sell top-of-the-line unarmed drones fromGeneral Atomics, in his previous capacity.
Noting that the India-specific fighter on offer and its programme’s size,scope and success will enable Indian industry to take advantage ofunprecedented manufacturing, upgrade and sustainment opportunities wellinto the future, Lall said the platform will give Indian industry a uniqueopportunity to become a part of the world’s largest fighter aircraftecosystem.
“We intend to create far more than an assembly line in India,” he said.
Lall claimed no other advanced fourth generation platform even comes closeto matching the record of real-world combat experience and provenoperational effectiveness.
“The fighter being offered specifically to India is uniquely the beststate-of-the-art fighter,” he said adding that all three variants of theF-35 are single-engine aircraft.
Many of the systems used on the India-specific platform are derived fromkey lessons learned and technologies from Lockheed Martin’s F-22 and theF-35, the world’s only operational fifth-generation fighters, he said.
Northrop Grumman’s advanced APG-83 Active Electronically Scanned Array(AESA) radar on the F-16 Block 70 provides F-16s with fifth-generationfighter radar capabilities by leveraging hardware and software commonalitywith F-22 and F-35 AESA radars, he added.
The APG-83 radar shares more than 95 percent software commonality with theF-35 radar and more than 70 percent hardware commonality.
Lall said the F-16 provides the path to business relationships withLockheed Martin, the only company in the world that has designed, developedand produced operational fifth-generation fighter aircraft.
Technology improvements will also continue to flow between the F-16, F-22and F-35 for decades, at a fraction of the cost to F-16 operators, he said.
The platform being offered provides unmatched opportunities for Indiancompanies of all sizes, including micro, small & medium enterprises (MSMEs)and suppliers throughout India, to establish new business relationshipswith Lockheed Martin and other industry leaders in the US and around theglobe, Lall said giving an insight into the offer being made by his company.
Asserting that approximately half of the Indian fighter supply chain willbe common with the fifth generation F-22 and F-35, Lall said the aircraftbrings the most modern avionics, a proven AESA radar, modernised cockpit,advanced weapons, longer range with conformal fuel tanks, auto groundcollision avoidance capability, and an advanced engine with an extendedservice life.
Even with the addition of targeting systems and two 2,000 pounds (lb) classJoint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs), the aircraft has a mission radiusexceeding 1,300 kms 30 percent greater than that of its closest competitor,he said.
“Many of the advances in systems on the aircraft India would get drawdirectly from key lessons learned from Lockheed Martin’s work on the F-22and the F-35,” he said.
“The AESA radar is the result of over two decades of investment, use andexperience with AESA technology, and it’s fully operational today,” Lallsaid.