Decision to lift sanctions could be timely boost for Boeing and Lockheed production
The Bush administration has rekindled prospects for US fighter sales in India and Pakistan at a key moment not only in South Asian politics, but also for the competitive fortunes of Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
The move comes as both US fighter makers have a need for a quick infusion of new orders. Lockheed has until October to find a new customer for the F-16 to avoid a work stoppage on the production line, which is expected to exhaust a 200-plus aircraft order backlog by 2008. Boeing faces a similar timeline for the end of the F-15 production line, which may affect how it chooses to bid with either the F-15 or the younger F/A-18E/F design for India's requirement for 126 multirole fighters. Both companies clearly welcome the US government's profound shift on arms trade policy to the subcontinent, unveiled on 25 March by the state department.
The decision lifts arms trade sanctions imposed on Pakistan in 1990, which blocked delivery of the first 28 F-16A/Bs built under a 71-aircraft order placed in 1988. Pakistan is expected to place an initial order for about 24 new F-16s, but "we haven't set any fixed limit on how many aircraft Pakistan can buy from us", a state official says. US officials also cleared Pakistan to buy mid-life upgrade kits for the 32 F-16A/Bs delivered from 1983-7. Primary funding for the Pakistani order will come from part of a US military aid package worth $1.5 billion in foreign military financing grants over five years, which is also being used for other equipment purchases.
A Lockheed source says the company will not know how many aircraft will be acquired or the desired configuration until they meet with the Pakistanis in mid-April. In India, the US government hopes to overcome local objections to a Pakistani F-16 deal with a broad offer to grant access to US fighter technology and "transformative systems in areas such as command and control, early warning and missile defence", the state official says. The official describes the F-16 and the F/A-18 as potential US candidates for India's next-generation fighter. However, Boeing's bidding strategy for the India requirement has not been settled, and involves a choice between the F-15 and F/A-18.
STEPHEN TRIMBLE/WASHINGTON DC
Source: Flight International
