American aerospace company Lockheed Martin Corp is open to establishing a maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) facility in India for F-21 to further sweeten its bid for the 114 fighter jets for the Indian Air Force (IAF), its representative said on Wednesday.
Michael Kelley, vice president, India, Lockheed Martin aeronautics strategy and business development, and Brett Medlin, the F-21 India campaign lead, are currently in India to hold dialogues with government and IAF officials on this deal. This comes amid India planning to acquire 114 medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) for the IAF.
Lockheed has already partnered with the Tata group to locally manufacture the aircraft. It had earlier assured to shift its production line to India if it secures the MMRCA deal and not sell the F-21 to any other country.
If the MRO facility is established in India, then the aircraft need not be taken to the US or other countries where Lockheed has an MRO unit, according to analysts. Kelley said that he was hopeful that India could come up with a decision on acquiring the MMRCAs by the first quarter of 2022.
