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India to invite bids for $5 bn fighter jet deal |
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India will soon invite bids from four global defence majors, including Lockheed Martin of the US and Russia’s MiG corporation, for its programme to buy 126 combat jets worth about $5 billion, the Air Force Chief said at Bangalore on Nov 21.
“Though the firms have sent details in response to our request for information (RFI), we have not sent the request for proposals (RPFs) yet. We will send them (RFPs) within a month,” Air Chief Marshal S.P. said.
The firms in the race for the lucrative deal are Lockheed Martin (with its F-16 jet), MiG RAC of Russia (MiG-29M2), Dassault Aviation of France (Mirage 2000-5) and Gripen of Sweden.
Admitting that the F-16 was very much in contention, Tyagi hinted the possibility of buying the jet existed.
“No timeframe has been fixed yet, as signing such contracts takes a long time. It is not an ordinary deal but something that costs about $5 billion,” he said.
Once the bids are received, they will be technically evaluated for short-listing, followed by commercial negotiations.
Air Force Chief Tyagi was speaking on the sidelines of a function where President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the supreme commander of the armed forces, presented the presidential standard to the Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment (ASTE) and presidential colours to the Institute of Aerospace Medicine. Both facilities are part of the IAF.
“While I can’t put a timeframe, we intend to acquire them over the next four to five years. Transfer of technology and co-production subsequently would be part of the deal,” Tyagi said.
“Buying an aircraft is a complex process and requires a lot of planning, technical evaluation and assessment of our future requirements.”
Tyagi termed the F-16 a descent aircraft, as witnessed at the recent joint exercise with the US Air Force at Kalaikunda airbase in West Bengal.
“It was like any other international exercise. From the military point of view, it was a great learning process. Both of us had something to learn from each other,” he said.
“Our pilots got to exercise with different kind of equipment, including F-16s and AWACS (airborne warning and control system). That was the advantage. Though details of the exercise are yet to come, our pilots performed very well,” the Air Force Chief said.
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