NEW DELHI, July 19 (UPI) -- A news report claimed this week that Lockheed Martin is offering to sell the Joint Strike Fighter to India.
The CNN-IBN news channel in India said Thursday that Lockheed officials were urging India to acquire its F-16 fighter with the incentive of a possible deal down the road to add the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to its arsenal.
The high-priced JSF is still several years from becoming operational; however, it is expected to be a top-line warplane capable of air supremacy in any theater. Should India deploy the aircraft, it would be a formidable foe not only for longtime rival Pakistan but also China, should the situation along their mutual border deteriorate.
For Lockheed Martin, however, the immediate focus is on the F-16 and its chances of winning the tender for 126 fighters issued earlier this year by India. India currently flies European-built warplanes that soon need to be replaced at a cost of about $7 billion.
The F-16 is only one of the contenders for the contract. Also in the running are Boeing, Eurofighter, Dassault and the Russian producers of the MiG-35, an export version of the vaunted MiG-29M Fulcrum F.
