The F-35 remains among the world’s most sophisticated and expensive combat aircraft platforms, with individual variants costing well above USD 100 million.
CEO of Lockheed Martin Jim Taiclet met the Prime Minister on Thursday.
The MoU was signed by Mr R. Madhavan, CMD (HAL) and Dr S K Jha, CMD (MIDHANI) in the presence of other Senior officials.
The move came days after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveiled a series of reform measures to promote the domestic defence industry and cut India's reliance on imported weapons and military platforms.
In sync with its priority for India, Lockheed, in September last year, finalised a joint venture with the Tata Advanced Systems to produce F-16 wings in India for export.
In a strategy dubbed by Indian and US observers as the 'string of pearls,' China has made use of a growing number of naval bases in the Indian Ocean, most notably the Gwadar port it is developing in India's historic rival Pakistan.
The most important gain though could be for the Indian Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) which is meant to be a futuristic 5th generation fighter.
The spokesperson, however, clarified that India was yet to float a request for information or proposal for the new aircraft.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket climbed into orbit on Sunday with the GPS 3 satellite designed to beam higher-power positioning, navigation and timing signals around the world.
Dassault operates in a ‘buyer's market‘. The option of the seller is comparatively limited and restricted, as it has to constantly feed and pay heed to the need of its foreign buyers. Customer satisfaction reigns supreme. The seller has to keep foreign clients in good humour, listening and attending to their smallest fads. The most spectacular of all deals is Rafale CEO's ability and steadfastness to stick to the claim ~ ‘I do not tell lies‘ ~ in a turbulent market like that of combat aviation. This is indeed commendable.
