India Defense on Spending Spree to Replace Aging Soviet-era Fighter Jets, Transport PlanesOctober 29, 2010
 The competition between U.S., European and Russian aerospace companies to supply a new generation of aircraft is heating up, according to an article in the Financial Times. India is picking between F-16s or F-18 Super Hornets, Mirages, MiGs, Eurofighters and Gripens, according to the article, and many of these international aerospace companies are jockeying for the contracts. Some have high-level officials backing their efforts. U.S. President Barack Obama, for example, heads to India next month to bolster the growing importance of the U.S./India alliance, but also to lobby for American companies looking to supply billions in new weapons systems. If India does buy American, it would be a body blow to Moscow, which for decades has had a steady flow of Indian business, supplying everything from ships and submarines to missiles and jet fighters to India’s Armed Forces since 1947. But India has reassessed the geopolitical regional threats and appears increasingly concerned with China’s growing assertiveness. The U.S. is also hoping India can be a regional counterweight to China’s increased influence. C. Raja Mohan, a senior strategic affairs analyst at Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University, says that the U.S. and India will have to work together to guarantee free movement within “sea lanes, cyberspace and even outer space,” according to the article. Some analysts, however, believe it will be difficult for two of the largest bureaucracies in the world—the U.S. Pentagon and India’s Defense Ministry—to work easily together. And while India appears to be favoring American weaponry, the country might actually split the contract with several nations, including France and Russia, according to the article. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Miranda Moorer) |
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