Lockheed’s pitch to India: F-16s, jobs and a blow to Pakistan
Lockheed Martin’s offer to shift all of its F-16 manufacturing to India comes with an added benefit for Prime Minister Narendra Modi: a strategic win against nuclear rival Pakistan.
The proposal would give India partial control along with the U.S. over which countries are able to purchase F-16 fighter jets and spare parts, according to people familiar with the situation who asked not to be identified. That may allow India to choke off key supplies to Pakistan, which has relied on F-16s as its main aerial defense for decades, if the U.S. allows it do so.
“Some components may be produced only in India,” Abhay Paranjape, director of business development at Fort Worth-based Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, said in an interview about the company’s F-16 proposal.
Asked whether Pakistan would still be able to source F-16 jets or parts elsewhere under the arrangement, Paranjape said questions about foreign military sales policies should be referred to the U.S. government. Roger Cabiness, a spokesman for the Department of Defense, in turn referred questions on the sale of F-16 spare parts to Lockheed.
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