India to announce huge fighter contract

From DefenseNews

Posted 06/29/07 08:08

India to Announce Huge Fighter Jet Contract

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, NEW DELHI

Indian defense officials were meeting June 29 before handing out a contract for 126 war planes potentially worth up to $9 billion, officials said.

Indian defense ministry officials and industry sources said the choice appeared to have narrowed down to Russian-built MiG-35 and MiG-29, Lockheed Martin’s F-16 and Boeing’s F-18.

The contract, described as the world’s biggest arms purchase in 15 years, will be the first time India’s huge defense establishment has bought fighters after evaluating rival bids through a global tender.

“Defence Minister A.K. Antony is heading the meeting of the decision-making Defence Acquisition Committee which will finalize the tender notice today,” a top ministry official told AFP. “The choice of the manufacturer and all other details will be announced shortly.”

Indian air force sources also told AFP that the contract would be open-ended — giving India room to order 60 additional jets from the same vendor or vendors.

India is the biggest arms purchaser among emerging nations.

Also in the race to replace a chunk of India’s aging fleet of 700 MiG-21s are Eurofighter’s Typhoon, Saab’s Gripen and Dassault’s Rafale and Mirage — although price considerations have left these contenders at a disadvantage, defense officials and industry sources said.

But with U.S. offerings in the running, the deal could also mark a shift away from dependence on Russian hardware.

Ties between Moscow — which meets 75 percent of India’s military needs — and India are now bumpy due to a delay in the delivery of a Russian aircraft carrier and acrimony over escalating Russian export costs, others said.