Lockheed in fresh push to move F-16 production to India

Says Trump admin may want to take a fresh look at the proposal


Reuters February 10, 2017
A F-16 fighter jet. PHOTO: REUTERS

WASHINGTON/ NEW DELHI: US defence firm Lockheed Martin wants to push ahead with plans to move production of its F-16 combat jets to India, but understands President Donald Trump’s administration may want to take a ‘fresh look’ at the proposal.

With no more orders for the F-16 from the Pentagon, Lockheed plans to use its Fort Worth, Texas plant instead to produce the fifth generation F-35 Joint Strike Fighter that the United States Air Force is transitioning to. Lockheed would switch F-16 production to India, as long as the Indian government agrees to order hundreds of the planes that its air force desperately needs.

Trump blasts F-35 fighter jet programme cost as ‘out of control’

Trump has criticised US companies that have moved manufacturing overseas and which then sell their products back to the US. In his first few weeks in office, he has pushed companies, from automakers to pharmaceutical firms, to produce more in the United States.

In Lockheed’s case, however, the plan is to build the F-16 to equip the Indian Air Force, and not sell them back into the United States. Lockheed said it has been talking to Trump’s transition and governance teams as well as the US Congress for several months on its plans, including the proposed sale of F-16 planes to India, a spokesman told Reuters in Washington.

“We’ve briefed the Administration on the current proposal, which was supported by the Obama Administration as part of a broader cooperative dialogue with the Government of India,” the spokesman said. “We understand that the Trump Administration will want to take a fresh look at some of these programmes, and we stand prepared to support that effort to ensure that any deal of this importance is properly aligned with US policy priorities.”

The White House did not respond to requests for comment on the plan to build the plane in India. A person close to Lockheed said company officials did not know what the Trump administration planned to do about the proposal to shift F-16 production to India. “They’re following it closely and talking with the White House. But if they don’t move production to India, there’s no way they’ll get the India contract,” the person said.

Will India become main manufacturer of Pakistan’s beloved F-16 jets?

One argument to be made was that moving to India would preserve some component production in the United States. “Twenty-five per cent of something is better than zero percent of nothing,” the person said.

Lockheed has said that moving F-16 assembly to India would create 200 engineering jobs in the United States to help support the production line in India. It has also said that about 800 workers in the United States making the non-Lockheed parts for the F-16 would keep their jobs if construction shifts to India.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 10th, 2017.

COMMENTS (3)

SHJ | 7 years ago | Reply F16 can move production to India but do not expect India to order these planes.
sayWhaaa! | 7 years ago | Reply @BrainBro: Not sure, if your HIGH or something. Let me clear something, "If Pakistan stops being an enemy of the states around it", Pakistan is not enemy of its "neighbours" in fact Pakistan is threatened by its neighbours and history about our "neighbours" intentions will suffice that. "rewrites its constitution, opens up to its neighbours", I don't recall any memory that our beloved "neighbours" has ever opened their borders in fact its the opposite we accepted refugee's and initiated programs like AMAN KI ASHA "Lockheed Martin types would have no problem moving their operations over". Pakistan has already successful and running JF-17 program and PAF has plans to upgrade and in near future will be able compete with 5th gene, so thanks but no thanks "We must remove our image as a warrior country", the worrier image was propaganda promoted by our "neighbours" and west to tarnished our image. Pakistan has defensive policy not offensive. Unlike our beloved "neighbours" has.
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