The reference to a sale of the fifth generation F-35 has never been made before by any U.S. government official and represents a shift in their willingness to bring it up for discussion with India.
The defence ministry has provided a singular and unconvincing defence of why it did not ask for, or entertain, a competing commercial offer for the Eurofighter Typhoon pitched by Airbus.
A breakdown of the issues that need to be resolved for the two countries to have discussions on a potential Indian fleet of F-35 aircraft, in the concluding part of this analysis.
The first part of an analysis that examines whether the time is right for the two countries to finally have a discussion on a potential Indian order of the F-35 fifth generation fighter aircraft.
The Indian Navy has issued a Request For Information (RFI) for 57 Multi-Role Carrier Borne Fighters (MRCBF) with the ability to operate from both STOBAR and CATOBAR aircraft carriers.
The U.S. has tested Perdix swarm mini-drones by deploying 103 of them from three F/A-18 Super Hornet aircraft over China Lake, California, as can be seen from the video inside.
The Indian Navy is set to take a decision on the future of the naval LCA and will be considering alternatives for fighters to operate from what will be a CATOBAR Indigenous Aircraft Carrier-2 (IAC-2).
Our pseudonymous analyst Mark is back with his take on the story so far of the IAF’s quest for fighter aircraft. He last contributed a much talked-about two-part analysis of the MMRCA tender in April 2012.