Indian Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar said at a news conference Tuesday that New Delhi is inviting global bids for a foreign-designed single-engine fighter that would be assembled in India. According to Parrikar, a western partner for the fighter will be chosen based on pricing and terms for the transfer of the technology, APA reports quoting Sputnik.
He added that the Indian Air Force will receive another line of fighters to be produced under the Strategic Partnership model. Even though the Ministry of Defence’s Aatre Committee mooted the SP model in April 2016, an MoD official said that a private company in India will be chosen to manufacture the fighters in India by the end of 2017.
Global bids are set to be solicited in 2018, at which point a private company will be chosen as a production agency for the SP, kicking off an evaluation period to conduct trials and assess technical and financial bids. Officials say this process could take two years or longer, with the final deal slated to be signed in 2021.
Sweden’s Saab Group is expected to pitch its Gripen multirole fighter aircraft while multinational aerospace company Lockheed Martin is expected to offer the its Block 70 version of the venerable F-16 fighter jet.
The Strategic Partnership concept called for selecting a few private sector companies to be designated as SPs. A senior IAF official told Defense News, "We will submit a new acceptance of necessity proposal for new single engine fighters to Ministry of Defense in the next four months, and will request to fast-pace this new program," adding that the "IAF will put up a demand for 200 new single engine fighters to be made in India, which will easily cost around $45 million apiece without weaponry."
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