- Lockheed Martin plans to expand India production if it wins aircraft bid
- India's tender is for 60 medium transport aircraft worth $10.5 billion
- Lockheed and Tata propose building 48 C-130Js in India
- Mahindra has teamed up with Brazil's Embraer for the same contract
LOCKHEED MARTIN plans to expand its production in India if it wins a contract to supply medium transport aircraft to the Indian armed forces, a senior company executive said.
India issued a tender in August for 60 medium transport aircraft, at an estimated cost of $10.5 billion.
Lockheed Martin has partnered with Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) to bid for the contract with its C-130J aircraft. Under its proposal, 12 aircraft would be delivered in flyaway condition and the remaining 48 would be manufactured in India.
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"We are looking to expand that capability with production and other things that occur within India," said Dan Tenney, senior vice president of global business development and strategy at Lockheed Martin, in response to a question from PTI.
Building on the Tata partnership
Tata already produces components for the C-130J, including empennages, the aircraft's tail assemblies.
"We have a long partnership with Tata that produces components and empennages of the C-130J aircraft. It is a very robust capability that will be expanded in our current bid," Tenney said.
He said the companies' manufacturing network in India would be expanded if their bid succeeds.
"So we're very excited by that. India has been a great partner in helping to enable advanced capabilities for that aircraft and beyond," he said.
Who else is bidding
Five Indian companies are competing for the contract and are expected to bring in global aircraft manufacturers as partners: TASL, Mahindra Group, Adani Defence & Aerospace, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Reliance Defence.
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Mahindra has partnered with Brazil's Embraer.
A common fleet of 72
Lockheed Martin has also proposed upgrading the Indian Air Force's (IAF) existing fleet of 12 C-130Js to the same advanced configuration, which would give the force a common fleet of 72 aircraft.
The IAF's current C-130Js have flown more than 58,000 hours. The aircraft have been used for high-altitude operations in Ladakh, humanitarian missions during floods in Nepal and the evacuation of Indian nationals from Sudan in 2023.
(With inputs from PTI)
