No Agreement Signed Between India and Lockheed Martin for F-16 Production

A lot of noise was created by Lockheed Martin, the US based aerospace giant, but the reality is that no agreement has been signed between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the US for the production of F-16 Block 70 / 72.

Lockheed Martin wanted to move the production of its F-16 fighter aircraft from Texas, US to India with the view to fulfill Indian and global requirement. 

However, a condition has been placed, i.e. Indian Air Force (IAF) will have to include this fighter aircraft in its fleet.

According to sources, no decision to fulfill the particular requirement of the IAF is expected to be taken in the next six months. 

It is worth noting here that there is no difference between the Block 70 / 72 F-16 fighter aircraft and the Block 60 aircraft that are being manufactured for the UAE air force.

These are the same aircraft that had taken part in the Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft competition to supply 126 of such aircraft to the Indian Air Force (IAF) and were rejected.

One of the prominent reasons for the failure of F-16 during that time, as explained by a former fighter pilot, was that there was no way improvements or changes can be made to those aircraft.

Also Read: Lockheed Martin Meets TATA Group May Build F-16 Fighters in India

Source: FinancialExpress  

BAE System Redefines Type 26 Bid for Australian

The latest decision from UK to procure from BAE Systems the first batch of Type 26 frigates has given a momentum to the company's bid to deliver the platform to the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) in fulfilling its requirement for future frigate.

Glyn Philips, the chief executive, BAE Systems Australia, stated that the new contract means the proposal from the company for the RAN will be de-risked significantly by way of support provided by the “live programme” from the UK.

He also stated that the RAN programme will also be beneficial due to technological advancements and wider growth margins.

Contracts worth USD 4.8 billion has been signed by UK with BAE Systems on June 29 under which construction of the first three of the eight ships that have been planned will be carried out.

The production of these three frigates will be started by BAE System later this month in Glasgow, Scotland. Contract for the five ships in the second batch is expected to be negotiated by the UK in the early 2020s.

The schedule of construction coincides with the requirement from RAN for nine frigates under Project SEO 5000. Construction of these vessels has been planned to start in 2020, and will be based at Osborne, South Australia.

Also Read: Challenges and Rewards of Keeping An Old Aircraft in Flying Condition

Source: Janes