Major players eye India defence tender

Major fighter jet manufacturers are targeting a lucrative Indian air defence contract that will go out for tender next month, officials said.

"We expect India to issue a request for proposal (RFP) for the contract and we are ready to bid for it," John Larson, Lockheed Martin's vice-president for the F16 programme, told Gulf News at the airshow. "The tender is for 126 advanced fighter jets and we feel that F16 would fit India's requirement."

India has an ageing fighter fleet, mostly a combination of Jaguars, Russian-made MiGs and French Mirage aircraft, and some are up for replacement.

India had earlier sent out the RFI to Lockheed Martin for F-16, Saab for the JAS 39 Gripen, Russian Aircraft Corp for MiG 29s and Dassault Aviation for the Mirage 2000-5s. Boeing has also offered its F/A-18 aircraft for the consideration, as has MiG for MiG-35s.

"We have been shortlisted for the RFP, that is primarily targeted as a replacement for India's aging MiG fleet and we are a strong contender for the contract," said Bob Kemp, marketing manager of Gripen International.

"Gripen is a very good product that fits into India's requirements and we are confident about the contract."

However, a latest DefenseNews report suggests that India "will increase the number of Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) it plans to buy to 200, opening the door for more than one supplier," quoting Indian Air Defence officials.

The Indian Cabinet Committee on Security, which clears major defence programmes, in October accepted the Air Force's proposal to increase the number from the original 126, for which a RFI already has been sent to overseas vendors.

The value of the original tender was $5 billion, the revised plan brings the combined value of one or more contracts to $8.5 billion, the report says.

Quoting a senior Defence Ministry official, the report says that the Air Force plans to phase out 60 of 140 Jaguar aircraft in the next five years, by which time, the MMRCAs would start arriving.

The additional planes will replace more Jaguars, aging MiG 23s and some squadrons of MiG 27s.

However, the report suggests that politics could play a role in the decision making.

"It will be difficult for the government to choose among four vendors because political and strategic considerations must be weighed in addition to technical factors," it said.

"The move to buy up to 200 MMRCAs would certainly ease the government's burden, as more than one type of MMRCA could be selected."

None of the officials from Gripen or Lockheed Martin was willing to comment.

"A lot of the decisions are taken at the government level for strategic reasons," said an official.