Company Faces Skepticism About US Suppliers

Citing a senior company official, Reuters reported Friday that Lockheed Martin Corp has placed two formal bids to sell nearly $1 billion worth of naval aircraft to India.

Under terms of the first deal -- valued at $550-700 million -- Lockheed offered to sell eight upgraded US Navy P-3 Orions to replace India's current aging fleet of Russian reconnaissance planes. The second bid is for 16 multi-mission MH-60R helicopters, said Royce Caplinger, head of Lockheed's Indian operations.

"It's a case of the perfect storm: the bilateral relationship, the requirement for products like ours, a budgeting process in India that is fixed and real, the money and there seems to be political will," Caplinger said, adding the helos would cost $350-400 million.

Once a Cold-Way adversary, in recent years India has become a valuable potential customer for several US defense manufacturers. As was reported by Aero-News, Boeing and Lockheed are currently in competition with Russian, Swedish and French manufacturers for a lucrative 126-plane deal to supply the Indian Air Force with fighter jets.

Such competitions signal a shift in India's traditional supplier alliances, which could be a boon as American companies win a share of providing equipment for the world's fourth-largest military.

There is a perception among several higher-ups in the IAF, however, that US companies might not always be there to provide parts and service for their planes. India defense experts told Reuters many were skeptical about assured supplies from US companies, who they see as vulnerable to shifting political winds and bilateral moods.

"We have absolutely no experience of dealing with the Americans, as against the Russians, the French or the British or even the Israelis," said Ashok Mehta, a retired Indian army major-general and defense analyst.

FMI: http://indianairforce.nic.in/, www.lockheedmartin.com