Dipayan Mazumdar reporting from Bangalore


Bangalore, Feb. 8: As the Govt. of India announced its plans to purchase 126 multi-combat aircrafts at US $ 6.5 billion; the world’s aviation focus has shifted towards India.

Ratan Tata’s successful flight on F-16 is seen as a coup for Lockheed Martin who will head for No, 1 position though MiG -35 has a proven track record because Indian Air force has been using the MiG series for quite some time now. It is the production version of the latest MiG-29. Russia is promoting the aircraft to various countries like Syria, Libya, Iran, Algeria, Sudan, India, Mexico, Brazil, Peru, to name a few. The MiG-35 is considered to be a serious contender to the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, Dassault Rafale and F-16 Desert Falcon for the bid of more than 126 combat fighter planes to be procured by the Indian Air Force.

F-16 to be the obvious choice is being claimed by the manufacturer lockheed martin. . Speaking exclusively to DMA Newsroom, Mr. Joseph W. Stout, Director of Communications, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company, U.S. said, “We have been poised for a year and working on the valuation of the Indian requirement, the ‘Request for Proposal’ has been in the pipeline for quite some time.”
“F-16 made history when it first rolled on Flight line – an aircraft that literally defined high performance. And those standards keep rising as the F-16 has evolved to the most capable multi-role fighter available”, he added.

Another favourite is the F/A-18 Hornet, manufactured by Boeing is a modern all-weather carrier-capable strike fighter jet, designed to attack both ground and aerial targets. Designed in the 1970s for service with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps, the Hornet is also used by the air forces of several other nations. They stand to be No. 3 in the race.

While the manufacturers keep their fingers crossed waiting for the
’Request for Proposal’ by the ministry of defence, the final decision, given the publicity drive by the aircraft companies, any tilt may not be of surprise.

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