The acquisition of the S-400, differing points of view on the war in Ukraine, eye-watering costs, a domestic 5th gen fighter program and never having operated any U.S. fighter aircraft are some of the reasons why India can’t and shouldn’t consider the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter.
The U.S. is the only country to send fighter aircraft to Aero India 2023. Other U.S. fighters at Aero India 2023 include two Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornets and two Lockheed Martin F-16s.
Eight of the F-35A fighters intended for Turkey will now be acquired by the USAF in an order that also includes six additional F-35A aircraft, for an order worth USD 861.73 million.
Japan has asked for 63 conventional F-35A & 42 F-35B Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing aircraft, and also plans to build its own stealth fighter by 2031.
The IAF’s new contest for fighter aircraft is expected to get underway over the next few months. But there remain a number of significant outstanding problems ahead, that could delay or derail the process.
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.
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 Air Force (IAF) is considering the possibility of an order for the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter, according to sources in the Ministry of Defence.
“Unfortunately the LCA has not been able to meet the carrier capability required. So that is why we need an alternate aircraft now,” said navy chief, Admiral Sunil Lanba.
Boeing, Saab and Lockheed Martin are offering to build fighters in India and each is bringing something different to the table.
The new concept is a spin-off from the hollow titanium blisk (bladed disk) of the Trent 700 engine and also derived the Rolls-Royce LiftSystem for the Pratt and Whitney F-135 vertical lift engine for F-35B.
Steven Gillard of Rolls-Royce spoke to StratPost about the Naval Aircraft Yard milestone of overhauling the 50th Sea Harrier Pegasus engine and the role played by his company in helping achieve it.
Although the design will be based on the Block 50 model, it will incorporate newer features that have, so far, only been included in the Block 60 Desert Falcons flown by the UAE Air Force and were part of the F-16IN Super Viper for the Indian Air Force tender for 126 Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft.
The US offer of information on the F-35 to India in a report made to the country’s Senate Armed Services Committee comes curiously on the eve of the opening of the commercial bids of the IAF’s MMRCA competition.
