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Lockheed bids for $1 bln aircraft deals with India
NEW DELHI - Top US defence contractor Lockheed Martin Corp. has made two formal bids to sell about $1 billion worth of naval aircraft to India, a senior company official said on Thursday. The bids are the latest by an American defence firm to leverage warming bilateral relations between the two countries who were on the opposite sides of the Cold War.Under the first bid, Lockheed has offered to sell 8 upgraded US Navy P-3 aircraft to replace a fleet of vintage Russian reconnaissance planes for $550-700 million. The other bid is for 16 multi-mission MH60R helicopters costing $350-400 million, said Royce Caplinger, head of Lockheeds Indian operations. Its 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, he told Reuters. Lockheed officials said American defence firms were buoyed by a recent landmark civilian nuclear cooperation pact between the United States and India, which they say is yet another indication of the strength of their relationship. We do follow our government. And, where they go, we tend to think that provides us a stable relationship that we can do business with, said Philip Georgariou, a director with Lockheeds aeronautics division in the US India, which has the worlds fourth-largest military with a 1.3 million-strong force, is seen as a lucrative market by US firms as New Delhi is modernising its defence equipment after long years of neglect. The Indian government raised its defence spending by 7 percent for fiscal 2006/07 to $20 billion as Pakistan and giant neighbour China -- both of whom have fought wars with India -- are seen as threats despite improved relations. It is shopping for new fighter and trainer jets, submarines, an aircraft carrier, modern guns and radars. India plans to buy 126 fighter jets, valued at close to $10 billion, which pits Lockheeds F-16 and Boeing Co. Posted by: Steve White 2006-04-21 |
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