The US aerospace giant reported Lockheed Martin has unveiled the new fighter aircraft during Aero India 2019 exhibition in Bangalore.
A new fighter was unveiled by Lockheed Martin called the F-21. It’s intended for India and based on the F-16.
According to a company’s representatives, the new combat aircraft is specifically configured for the Indian Air Force.
“The F-21 provides unmatched ‘Make in India’ opportunities and strengthens India’s path to an advanced airpower future,” said in the company.
“The new [F-21] designation highlights our commitment to delivering an advanced, scalable fighter aircraft to the Indian Air Force that also provides unrivaled industrial opportunities and accelerates closer India-US cooperation on advanced technologies,” he added.
The company will build the plane in collaboration with Tata Advanced Systems, the firm said.
“The F-21 is different, inside and out, Vivek Lall,” vice president of Strategy and Business Development for Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, said in a statement.
Lockheed is competing with Boeing’s F/A-18, Saab’s Gripen, Dassault Aviations Rafale, the Eurofighter Typhoon and a Russian aircraft, in a bid to win a large military order worth over $15 billion for the Indian air force order.
Vivek Lall, vice president of Aerospace and defence company ‘Lockheed Martin’ to ANI: American Lockheed Martin offers F-21 fighter Aircraft to India for its requirement for 114 multirole fighter planes. The plane would be offered to India and will be exc… pic.twitter.com/R5UKPewQ3k
— Sumit Srivastava (@somitsrivastav) 20 February 2019