Delhi wants 200 made-in-India jets

NEW DELHI: India is offering to buy hundreds of fighter planes from foreign manufacturers as long as the jets are made in India and with a local partner, air force officials say.

A deal for 200 single-engine planes produced in India which the air force says could rise to 300, could be worth anything from $13-$15 billion.

Lockheed Martin said it is interested in setting up a production line for its F-16 plane in India for not just the Indian military, but also for export. And Sweden's Saab has offered a rival production line for its Gripen aircraft.

"The immediate shortfall is 200. That would be the minimum we would be looking at," said an air officer.

India's defence ministry has written to several companies asking if they would be willing to set up an assembly line for single-engine fighter planes in India, another government source said.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 30^th, 2016.