U.S. jet makers jockey for Indian orders
U.S. jet makers jockey for Indian orders
On the same day last month that the United States said that it would sell F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan, President George W. Bush called the prime minister of India, Pakistan's archrival, with a message intended to soften the blow.
But the decision to open up the Indian market means that contractors now have the chance to sell as many as 126 fighter jets - with prices starting at $35 million each - to a country with an aging military fleet of 800 jets, none of them made in America.
Alternatively, Boeing could benefit if India pushes for something other than the F-16. That could mean new business for Boeing in St. Louis, Missouri, where 5,000 people now build the F/A-18 Super Hornet and the F-15 Strike Eagle, jets now used exclusively by the U.S. military. The lack of U.S. fighter jets in the Indian military fleet reflects decades of touchy relations between the two countries: Washington twice cut off arms sales to India during cold war disputes, prompting New Delhi to respond by displaying an even deeper distrust of doing business with a country it could not consider a reliable military supplier. Now New Delhi has a lavish spending plan to strengthen the country's military. High on its list are early warning and missile defense systems, nuclear fuel and technologies and space-related technologies. India already supplies software to Boeing and Lockheed, and purchases of American arms would enable it to gain access to U.S. military technology and participate in co-production deals. "The last few years since 9/11 have been a gold rush for U.S. contractors," said Jon Kutler, president of Quarterdeck Investment Partnership, a unit of Jeffries Group. "But in the next few years, we expect export sales will become extremely important again as U.S. spending on these major weapons platforms will start to go down."
On the same day last month that the United States said that it would sell F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan, President George W. Bush called the prime minister of India, Pakistan's archrival, with a message intended to soften the blow.
But the decision to open up the Indian market means that contractors now have the chance to sell as many as 126 fighter jets - with prices starting at $35 million each - to a country with an aging military fleet of 800 jets, none of them made in America.
Alternatively, Boeing could benefit if India pushes for something other than the F-16. That could mean new business for Boeing in St. Louis, Missouri, where 5,000 people now build the F/A-18 Super Hornet and the F-15 Strike Eagle, jets now used exclusively by the U.S. military. The lack of U.S. fighter jets in the Indian military fleet reflects decades of touchy relations between the two countries: Washington twice cut off arms sales to India during cold war disputes, prompting New Delhi to respond by displaying an even deeper distrust of doing business with a country it could not consider a reliable military supplier. Now New Delhi has a lavish spending plan to strengthen the country's military. High on its list are early warning and missile defense systems, nuclear fuel and technologies and space-related technologies. India already supplies software to Boeing and Lockheed, and purchases of American arms would enable it to gain access to U.S. military technology and participate in co-production deals. "The last few years since 9/11 have been a gold rush for U.S. contractors," said Jon Kutler, president of Quarterdeck Investment Partnership, a unit of Jeffries Group. "But in the next few years, we expect export sales will become extremely important again as U.S. spending on these major weapons platforms will start to go down."
posted by India News Watch at 10:21 AM
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