Country Wants Selection Process To Be "Transparent and Fair"

Boeing and Lockheed Martin are going head-to-head with four other global manufacturers to compete for what could be the biggest military aviation contract in 15 years.

India's Ministry of Defense issued a Request for Proposal this week to six vendors looking to supply the nation with modern fighter aircraft. Those contestants include Russia's MIG-35; Sweden's JAS-39 Gripen; Dassault's Rafale; Lockheed Martin's F-16 Falcon; Boeing's F/A-18 Super Hornet; and the Eurofighter Typhoon, built by a consortium of British, German, Spanish and Italian firms).

The 211-page document deals with various issues relating to initial purchase, transfer of technology, licensed production and life-time maintenance support for the aircraft. The RFP contains the selection model that would involve an exhaustive evaluation process.

The proposals from the likely contenders would first be technically evaluated by a professional team to check for compliance with the Ministry's operational requirements and other RFP conditions. The Ministry said it plans extensive field trials for performance evaluations before coming up with its short list.

The chosen aircraft are likely to be in service for more than 40 years, said the Defense Ministry. It is striving to make the selection process "transparent and fair."

Under the terms of purchase, the first 18 aircraft will come in a 'fly away' condition while the remaining 108 will be manufactured under Transfer of Technology. Overseas companies winning orders in India of at least $73 million will have to compulsorily produce in the country and form joint ventures to buy components, in a policy known as "offset."

The country wants to add combat planes to its air force, the worlds fourth-largest, to replace an aging fleet of Russian-made MiGs. New jets will allow the South Asian nation to bolster its defense capabilities as China produces its own fighters and Pakistan buys new planes from the US.

The purchase of components has to be at least 30 percent of the value of the contract, which may be increased based on the type of the acquisition.

FMI: www.mod.nic.in, www.boeing.com, www.lockheedmartin.com